Trump hails House move to block Hegseth impeachment, calls Thomas Massie a 'major loser'

President Donald Trump celebrated the US House of Representatives’ decision to reject an impeachment effort against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He called the outcome a major victory for his administration and sharply criticizing Rep.

Thomas Massie, the only Republican who voted in favor of the measure. President Donald Trump celebrated the US House of Representatives’ decision to reject an impeachment effort against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. (REUTERS)In a post on Truth Social shortly after Tuesday’s vote, Trump wrote that the impeachment attempt had “miserably FAILED” and praised nearly all House Republicans for standing behind Hegseth.

He singled out Massie, calling the outgoing Kentucky congressman “a major LOSER.” Trump also credited Hegseth with military successes in Venezuela and Iran, record recruitment numbers and renewed morale within the armed forces.

The impeachment resolution failed on Tuesday after Republicans largely united behind Hegseth following Trump’s public backing. The chamber voted 211 to 204 in favor of a motion to refer the impeachment charges to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee.

The effort was led by outgoing Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie and supported by House Democrats. Massie’s resolution contained eight articles of impeachment. It accused Hegseth of carrying out unlawful military actions, with allegations centered on the conflict in Iran and additional references to operations in Yemen and Venezuela.

Massie argued that Hegseth had “knowingly executed and implemented unlawful orders.” The Kentucky lawmaker is set to leave Congress in January after losing his Republican primary to a Trump-backed challenger. Trump wrote, “Victories in Venezuela and Iran, the Best Recruitment Numbers in the History of the Military (Long waiting lists to get in!), and Spirit like rarely seen before, led to the EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot.” The House vote halted, at least for now, an effort to remove Hegseth over his conduct in office and his handling of the Iran conflict.

Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues.

Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats.

Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments.

She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More