Pete Hegseth pulled out the old ‘only following orders’ defence, and the side-eye was visible from space – 18 votes of no confidence
Despite Republican congressman Thomas Massie giving it the old college try, the motion to impeach Secretary of Defense (US spelling – don’t @ us) Pete Hegseth has fallen at the first hurdle.
BREAKING: Thomas Massie’s resolution to impeach Pete Hegseth fails in the House 211-204, after 11 Democrats failed to show up for the vote.
If those 11 Democrats had showed up, Hegseth would have been impeached 215-211. https://t.co/jjNmTTj6wf
— Power to the People ☭🕊 (@ProudSocialist) November 10, 2026
It’s disappointing not to see accountability get going, but it’s not a great shock.
Ahead of the vote, Hegseth held a belligerent press conference, in which he cherry-picked right-leaning journalists to ask questions, and presented a bold straw man defence.
Hegseth: "Put the secretary on trial today, and the men and women who carried out those orders tomorrow. If they want to come for the warriors, they’re going to have to come through me." https://t.co/XplGs8CTQq
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 10, 2026
Hegseth claims that criticizing him is somehow “slandering” the troops.
For a guy who spends so much time telling us how tough he is, I gotta say, that press conference was one of the weakest, most pathetic displays of leadership I’ve ever seen from a Secretary of Defense.
— Amy McGrath (@AmyMcGrathKY) November 11, 2026
One of his comments caused a lot of ears to prick up, and a mass raising of eyebrows.
Hegseth notes that everything he did was "ordered by the commander in chief"
(he was just following orders, you see) https://t.co/8vmyOfppf2
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 10, 2026
The internet responded.