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Tuesday 10 Nov 2026
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US President Donald Trump. (Photo/AP)
US President Donald Trump has thrown his full support behind embattled Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, declaring that the Pentagon chief carried out a "good job" and "won" wars in Venezuela and Iran.
Speaking at a White House press briefing hours after a fellow Republican launched an impeachment effort, Trump insisted: "Yeah, I'll stand by him... He won two wars. He was in charge."
Trump lashed out at Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who introduced the resolution, stating: "Massie is a loser. He shouldn't be taking up the time of Congress... The guy's a stone-cold loser."
.@POTUS on @SecWar: "I'll stand by him. He won two wars. He was in charge; we all won... Massie is a loser — just like you're a loser at CNN." https://t.co/8I0ilWejpi
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 9, 2026
Eight articles of impeachment
Massie filed the privileged resolution on Monday, requiring House Republican leadership to schedule a floor vote within two legislative days, unless blocked by a procedural motion.
The resolution seeks Hegseth's removal from office and permanent disqualification from federal positions across eight articles alleging unauthorised warfare, civilian casualties, extrajudicial killings, and retaliation against free speech.
The first three articles accuse Hegseth of violating the War Powers Resolution of 1973 by conducting unauthorised military operations in Iran and ignoring congressional withdrawal mandates.
The fourth article alleges he degraded civilian safeguards, citing a US strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, Iran, which killed upwards of 150 civilians, including roughly 120 girls aged 12 and younger.
Subsequent charges cite strikes on suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that killed at least 243 people, retaliation against Senator Mark Kelly over lawful military speech, an unauthorised January assault in Venezuela that captured President Nicolas Maduro at the cost of 83 lives, and Operation Rough Rider in Yemen, involving over 1,100 strikes.
Hegseth brushed aside the impeachment push earlier on Monday, saying: "We're not worried about impeachment. We're going to do a press conference tomorrow morning on that topic."
However, House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries endorsed the initiative, confirming he remains a "hard yes" on backing the resolution.
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Source: TRT
