Hakeem Jeffries Backs Pete Hegseth's Impeachment, Calling His Handling of the Iran War a Disaster for America
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has intensified his calls for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's removal, accusing him of violating the Constitution and making the United States less secure through the war against Iran.
“With respect to the situation with Pete Hegseth, the so-called Secretary of Defense, it's clear as day. He's been a failure and a disaster for the American people,” Jeffries said.
He accused Hegseth of disregarding the law and Constitution, declaring that nothing justified his continued service as defense secretary. The allegations remain contested and have not been established by an impeachment conviction.
The criticism comes as Republican Representative Thomas Massie introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth on November 9, challenging his conduct of the Iran war and other military operations.
Jeffries had already declared his support during an ABC interview on Sunday. “I'm a hard Yes on the Hegseth resolution,” he said. “Pete Hegseth has got to go.”
The Democratic leader also challenged the administration's assessment of its campaign against Tehran.
“Iran is stronger now than they were before Operation Epic Failure led by Pete Hegseth began,” he argued, using his own derisive name for the U.S. military campaign.
Jeffries has repeatedly linked the war to higher energy prices and the rising cost of living. He said Democrats were determined to stop the conflict, declaring: “We're going to end the war in Iran one way or the other.”
His criticism extended to Stephen Miller, Trump's newly appointed White House chief of staff. Jeffries accused Miller of racism and said he had no interest in working with him, citing his record on immigration enforcement.
Jeffries also defended Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar against accusations of immigration fraud, describing the allegations as an unsupported right-wing conspiracy.
“There's zero evidence that Representative Omar committed immigration fraud,” he said, pledging to continue supporting her work on affordability and government accountability.
The dispute unfolds following Democrats' midterm election victories, which will give the party control of both chambers of Congress in January. Trump has defended Hegseth, while the defense secretary has rejected the impeachment effort and is expected to address it publicly.