Hegseth: Impeachment effort is 'political spectacle'

What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it's not accountability. It's a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment. 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 Everybody knows it. 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. And in our case, successful ones at that, not once. War powers resolution or not, not under Reagan in Lebanon, not under Clinton in Kosovo, not under Obama in Iraq and Syria, not under Biden in Iraq and Syria. That's the standard. The history is clear and it's very straightforward. And one disgruntled congressman wants to shred it over policy disagreements. That's what it is, policy disagreements. Not high crimes, not misdemeanors, not treason, not bribery, not the kinds of offenses the founders intended when they wrote the impeachment clause. The proper remedy for a policy disagreement, it's legislation, it's debate. It's the next presidential election. It's not handing the House and Senate floor to the Democrats so that they can run a show trial against the president and the secretary of war while Republicans still control Congress and should be delivering wins for the American people. You see, we've seen this show before. They impeached President Trump over a perfect phone call. They impeached him again in his final week in office. Both times they failed. Both times he came back stronger. And the American people sent him back to the White House. Now they're trying a third time, this time against a member of his cabinet. They will fail again. And if standing with President Trump puts me in that company, I'll take that company every day of the week. Let's be clear about what this resolution actually does. It tells our enemies, Iran, the cartels, every adversary watching that the United States will actually punish its own warriors and its own civilian leadership for successfully executing lawful military operations. It tells them that a single rogue legislator loaded with personal animus for the president can attempt to veto national security decisions made by the duly It puts a target on the backs of American warriors. By signaling that Congress will undermine their missions in real time. This is not patriotism. This is sabotage.