President Trump Insists Pete Hegseth Should Be Praised Not Impeached and Calls Massie a Total Loser

Thomas Massie read eight articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth on the US House floor on Monday, prompting Donald Trump to call the Kentucky Republican a 'total loser' and urge Congress to praise the defence secretary.

Massie read the articles aloud shortly after 2pm EST. Trump's response came in a post on Truth Social that night, after he had spent the weekend asking the Department of Justice to examine what he described as Democratic threats to impeach Republican officials.

Trump Urges Congress To Praise Hegseth

Trump cited military recruitment in his Monday night post, contrasting Hegseth's record with that of Joe Biden's administration. He also credited the defence secretary with what he described as victories abroad, naming Venezuela and Iran.

'With recruitment at an ALL-TIME HIGH, from an all-time low under Sleepy Joe Biden, and TWO VICTORIES, Venezuela and Iran, Pete Hegseth should be praised, not Impeached. Congress, stand up for Pete!!!' Trump wrote.

He gave no recruitment figures for either administration and did not specify which events in Venezuela or Iran he counted as victories. The post began with a rebuke of Massie, in which Trump also offered his own assessment of Hegseth's standing among US military officials.

'Defeated Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, a total loser, is trying to Impeach perhaps the most popular and successful military official in the Country, Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth,' he wrote.

The post did not set out the grounds listed in Massie's eight articles. Trump's appeal to Congress was for lawmakers to support Hegseth, rather than for them to address the specific claims in the articles.

Trump's Earlier Call for a Justice Department Inquiry

Trump's weekend comments about Democrats came after midterm elections in which Democrats won the House and Senate. The party was due to take control of both chambers in January, while Massie brought the articles against Hegseth as the outgoing House remained in session.

On Saturday, Trump described what he said were Democratic threats as 'extortion at the highest level' and said he had ordered the Department of Justice to 'look into this'. He also claimed the Democrats involved had acknowledged they had no grounds to act.

'The Democrats are going around threatening a lot of people ... with Impeachment and many other forms of punishment, even though they admit they have no reason to do so, and there have been no impeachable acts committed, or even thought of, by the victims of this illegal process,' Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump did not identify a Democrat who had made such an admission. His Saturday request concerned threats he alleged had been directed at several people. On Monday night, he turned to Congress to seek support for Hegseth, who was facing impeachment articles from Massie.

Pete Hegseth Plans a Press Conference

Trump was asking Massie's fellow Republicans to defend the secretary their colleague wanted impeached. Republican support for the effort remained uncertain, while House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries had already called himself a 'hard yes' on impeachment.

Hegseth had addressed the prospect of impeachment earlier on Monday, before Trump's appeal to lawmakers. The defence secretary indicated he was not 'worried' about Massie's effort, The Hill reported.

He planned to discuss the articles at a press conference the following morning. The supplied account does not say whether the press conference took place or provide further detail about Hegseth's response to the articles.