Hegseth dismisses renewed impeachment threat: 'It won't work with me'

Hegseth rejected renewed impeachment efforts on Thursday as Republican Rep. Thomas Massie prepared to reintroduce articles of impeachment following the midterm elections.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed renewed efforts to impeach him on Thursday, saying impeachment “didn’t work against President Trump and it won’t work with me” in a video posted to X/Twitter.

“You can rest assured to that,” Hegseth said in the video, filmed outside the Department of War.

His remarks came in response to Republican US Representative Thomas Massie, who told Bloomberg News that he would “definitely” reintroduce articles of impeachment against Hegseth next week.

“A disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies, has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly, just like they tried against President Trump twice," Hegseth said in the video.

He added, "You see, their policies don't work. So their obsession with political theater disguised as power drives them to try to destroy their opponents. It's all about the politics of personal destruction."

US President Donald Trump expressed support for Hegseth on Wednesday, despite sources saying he had been consulting with advisers on whether to keep Hegseth in his current role after the midterm elections, CBS News reported.

Asked whether he was considering replacing Hegseth, Trump told reporters, "No, I think he's doing a very good job."

In October, ahead of the midterms, Democrats had also signaled plans to pursue Hegseth's removal if they gained control of the House.

“One of the first things we’re going to do in the majority, we’re going to run Pete Hegseth out of town,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said at a rally in Pennsylvania, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Massie accused Hegseth of abusing his office

In September, Massie, an outspoken critic of the war against Iran and US aid to Israel, filed articles of impeachment against Hegseth, accusing him of abusing his office by carrying out an order to launch hostilities against Iran without congressional approval.

According to the WSJ, Massie planned to force an impeachment vote shortly after the House returns to session on November 9.

Reuters and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.