President Donald Trump grew visibly frustrated on Monday when CNN’s Kaitlan Collins pressed him on whether he would keep Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in place if lawmakers moved to impeach him, according to Mediaite. The exchange came only hours after Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth in the House.
Collins asked Trump directly, “Will you stand by Pete Hegseth if he’s impeached?” Trump answered without hesitation, “Yeah, I’ll stand by him.” When Collins followed up by asking whether he would retain Hegseth as defense secretary even after an impeachment vote, Trump pointed to what he described as military successes under Hegseth’s watch. “He won two wars. He was in charge. We all won. I had great people,” Trump said.
Collins then noted that Massie has accused Hegseth of carrying out illegal acts. Trump turned the criticism back on both Massie and Collins, saying, “Massie’s a loser. Just like you’re a loser at CNN. Just like your ratings are a loser.” He continued, calling Massie “a stone-cold loser” and claiming the congressman has “a lot of hatred in his heart.” Trump said he did not want to spend time watching Massie and repeated that the United States “won two wars” and made the world “a lot safer place.”
Republican lawmaker revives effort to impeach Hegseth over Iran and other allegations
Massie introduced the impeachment resolution as soon as the House returned for its first session following the midterm elections. He has accused Hegseth of carrying out unlawful orders and of posing a threat to the Constitution.
The Kentucky Republican reintroduced eight articles of impeachment that he had first filed in September. At the time, House Speaker Mike Johnson sent lawmakers home early, preventing a vote while Republicans still controlled the chamber.
In a news conference on Monday, Massie said he would accept support from any lawmakers who want Hegseth removed, even those who have not read the full text of the resolution. “I understand that some of them just want to vote for this because they just want to see Hegseth gone,” Massie said. “I welcome their vote.” He also urged Hegseth to resign before Democrats take control of Congress in January, when they are expected to open broader investigations into the administration.
The resolution claims Hegseth helped carry out the war on Iran without the congressional authorization required by the War Powers Resolution. It further alleges that Hegseth “cultivated a warmaking culture” that disregarded rules of engagement and led to civilian harm. Massie specifically cited the U.S. bombing of a school in Minab, Iran, at the start of the U.S.-Israel war in February, an attack that killed more than 150 people, including about 120 children.
Other articles in the resolution address U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that officials have described as narcotics vessels. Massie argues those operations ignored required safeguards and amounted to extrajudicial killings.
The filing also lists the abduction of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, restrictions on media access to the Pentagon, and what Massie calls an unlawful war in Yemen against the Houthis. A separate House Democrat’s push to impeach Hegseth cited a long list of alleged war crimes.
Hegseth has rejected the charges and said he is prepared to defend the administration’s decisions. “There’s a lot of politically motivated people who may have substantial policy disagreements, but their disagreements are with success,” Hegseth told reporters on Monday. He added that if lawmakers want to examine the military actions taken under the Trump administration, “I’m happy to do it all day long.” Hegseth is scheduled to hold his own news conference on Tuesday.
Impeachment would require a majority vote in the 435-member House, followed by a two-thirds vote in the Senate to remove Hegseth from office. The effort is not expected to advance while Republicans still hold the House.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is expected to become speaker after Democrats won majorities in both chambers, said over the weekend that he supports the push. “The so-called secretary of defence has abused his power, undermined our national security, and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran,” Jeffries said. Democrats are projected to hold roughly 54 Senate seats, short of the 67 needed for conviction.
Speaker Mike Johnson has dismissed the resolution. “We don’t impeach Cabinet secretaries for political gain or for cheap tricks, and I think that’s what this is, and I think everybody knows it,” Johnson told reporters.
Trump administration officials have opposed any attempt to remove Hegseth while also noting that the war on Iran proved unpopular with voters and may have contributed to Republican losses in the midterms. On Sunday, Trump said of Hegseth, “He’s guilty of two things, basically winning two wars,” and added, “I believe we saved the Middle East and Israel combined. And it’s awfully hard to say let’s impeach somebody who did that.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also defended Hegseth, saying he has “done a good job” even as he described the Iran war as “necessary” though “not necessarily popular.”
Published: Nov 10, 2026 05:45 am