"Certainly not going to indulge in any finger pointing": Hegseth after JD Vance links Iran war to GOP midterm losses

Washington DC: US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth defended the Trump administration's military actions during a press briefing addressing ongoing impeachment efforts against him.

When asked about Vice President JD Vance and other Republicans blaming the conflict and rising prices for the Republican Party's defeat in the midterm, Hegseth declined to engage in finger-pointing, stating, "I respect the vice-president greatly, and I'm certainly not going to exchange in any finger-pointing."

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Hegseth defended the conflict as a "necessary undertaking," echoing President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the action was vital to ensure Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.

The debate follows recent midterm elections where domestic frustration over foreign military intervention and rising global energy prices spilt onto the ballot. Analysts and administration figures, including Vice President Vance, point to the economic and strategic fallout of the Iran campaign as a key factor in driving swing voters away from Republicans.

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US Vice President JD Vance explicitly identified the war with Iran as the primary cause of the Republican Party's sweeping 2026 midterm defeat, revealing that President Donald Trump shared a similar view, while calling on conservative voters to channel their frustration directly into future election cycles.

In a candid post reflecting on the results, Vance explained that internal campaign data showed strong turnout among conservative voters.

"One of the things the data analysts on our side obsessed over was 'composition'-whether the electorate looked close enough to 2024 for Republicans to win. And despite polls that showed a Democrat blowout, the data kept on telling us the same story: in some states turnout was merely OK, in other states it was downright amazing, and in no state was it catastrophic. There was a genuine sense of optimism on our team: our people were showing up," he wrote in a post on X.

Meanwhile, Hegseth dismissed the congressional push for his impeachment-led by Representative Thomas Massie-as a "political spectacle".

Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced a privileged resolution containing eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth. The charges primarily accuse Hegseth of violating the US Constitution and the War Powers Act by waging a military conflict in Iran without congressional authorisation. The resolution also cites unauthorised operations in Yemen and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

Hegseth is facing eight articles of impeachment in a privileged House resolution and remains defiant amid war and political battle.

Hegseth said he stood behind military operations his department conducted in Iran, Venezuela and Yemen, saying they were lawful.

"What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight; it's not accountability. It's a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment," Hegseth said in a Tuesday morning conference.

"Time for one man's final days in Congress to try to do damage to this president, this country and, most irresponsibly, the warriors who defend it."

"It's a farce, and it's a stunt, and everybody knows it."

"As for the articles themselves," he continued, "Iran, the cartels, Maduro, Yemen, every one was a lawful operation ordered by the commander in chief, then ordered by myself, notified to Congress and executed by American warriors who did their jobs."

"We destroyed terror regimes' capabilities. We sank the boats carrying poison into our communities. We put a narco dictator in handcuffs. These are not high crimes. This is the job, and it's the job well done."

"I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow," he added. Hegseth said the effort hands U.S. enemies a "propaganda victory."

"This is not patriotism; this is sabotage. It tells our enemies that the United States will actually punish its own warriors and its own civilian leadership for successfully executing lawful military operations," Hegseth added.

The Pentagon chief spoke at his first press briefing from the five-sided building in six months, responding to outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie's effort to impeach him over his handling of the war against Iran and other actions.

"In the 250 years of our American republic, no Secretary of War or Secretary of Defense has ever been impeached for carrying out lawful military operations," Hegseth told reporters.

The briefing was Hegseth's first since May, even as the U.S. military has kept up intermittent operations against Iran as well as strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in Latin America.