国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯周二表示，一位即将离任的共和党众议员发起的弹劾他是一场“政治闹剧”。“这是一场笑话，是一场表演，大家心知肚明，”赫格塞斯在五角大楼的新闻发布会上说。赫格塞斯称，这一举动向世界各地的美国敌人传递了危险信号。
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the effort to impeach him by an outgoing Republican congressman is nothing but a “political spectacle.”“It’s a farce, and it’s a stunt and everybody knows it,” Hegseth said during a press conference at the Pentagon. Hegseth said the effort sends a dangerous message to U.S. enemies around the world.
共和党肯塔基州众议员托马斯·马西周一重新提出弹劾条款，理由是特朗普总统下令对伊朗发动战争及其他军事行动。赫格塞斯将此举比作国会在特朗普首个任期内两次失败的弹劾尝试——第一次是因与乌克兰总统泽连斯基的通话，第二次是因2021年1月6日美国国会大厦遭袭击。“那两次都失败了，那两次他都变得更强大，美国人民把他送回了白宫，”赫格塞斯说。“现在他们试图第三次发动，这次针对的是他的内阁成员。他们将再次失败，如果站在特朗普总统一边让我处于那种境地，我甘之如饴。”
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., reintroduced articles of impeachment on Monday over the war with Iran and other military actions that were ordered by President Donald Trump. Hegseth likened the effort to Congress’ two failed efforts to impeach Trump during his first term — first over a phone call with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, and the second over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol. “Both times they failed, both times he came back stronger, and the American people sent him back to the White House,” Hegseth said. “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.”
特朗普在赫格塞斯讲话结束后不久通过社交媒体发声，写道，国防部长“因对一名心怀不满、愤怒、失败的前众议员托马斯·马西的辩护，获得‘A+、加加加’，马西是个‘彻头彻尾的失败者！’”赫格塞斯描绘了美国在战争中地位良好的图景，而特朗普曾称这只是“小规模入侵”，只会持续四到六周。冲突已拖入第九个月，美国弹药耗尽，共和党因高油价和通胀在中期选举中惨败。
Trump weighed in by social media shortly after Hegseth finished, writing that the defense secretary “gets an “A” PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman, Thomas Massie, a TOTAL LOSER!”Hegseth painted a rosy picture of the U.S.’ standing in the war which Trump called a “minor incursion” that would last only four to six weeks. The conflict has dragged on into its ninth month, U.S. munitions are depleted and the Republicans saw massive losses in the midterm elections over high gas prices and inflation.
NBC新闻报道，美国最近因伊朗的威胁，从英国的一处空军基地转移了军用飞机。一名美国官员向NBC新闻证实，随着那里的安全态势升级，数架军用飞机已离开米尔登霍尔皇家空军基地。
The United States just recently moved military aircraft from an airbase in the United Kingdom amid threats from Iran, NBCNews reported. A U.S. official confirmed to NBC News that several military aircraft had left RAF Mildenhall as the security posture there had increased.
赫格塞斯为其担任部长期间的履历进行了辩护，列举了他在伊朗战争、打击拉丁美洲涉嫌贩毒船只的行动，以及军方秘密抓捕委内瑞拉总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗的努力中取得的成果。马杜罗及其妻子面临美国的指控，对此他们予以否认。国会共和党和民主党议员对赫格塞斯向他们提供的关于伊朗冲突不断膨胀成本的信息数量和质量感到沮丧，据NBC新闻报道，该冲突成本可能高达1000亿美元。
Hegseth defended his record as secretary as he listed his accomplishments over the war with Iran, operations in Latin America to go after alleged drug boats, and the military’s secret effort to nab Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro and his wife are facing charges in the U.S. that he has denied. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have been frustrated by the amount and caliber of information Hegseth has provided them about the ballooning costs of the Iran conflict, which could be as high $100 billion, NBC news has reported.
五角大楼仍在寻求一项尚未获批的预算。长期批评特朗普、将于年底退出国会的马西提出了八项指控，指责赫格塞斯“在没有宣战、法定授权、美国遭受袭击或迫在眉睫的威胁的情况下发动伊朗战争”。根据众议院规则，因他以特权动议形式提出该措施，众议院共和党领袖将被迫在两个立法日内将弹劾条款提交全院表决。
The Pentagon is still seeking a budget that has not yet been approved. Massie, a longtime Trump critic who’s retiring from Congress at the end of the year, brought eight charges against Hegseth, accusing him of “waging the Iran war despite no declaration of war, statutory authorization, attack on the United States, or imminent threat.”His actions mean that House GOP leaders will be forced to bring the impeachment articles up for a floor vote within two legislative days because he filed the measure as privileged under House rules.
众议院以简单多数票即可通过弹劾条款。若成功，决议将提交参议院，由参议院决定是否定罪并免去赫格塞斯职务。共和党也可提出动议驳回该决议，这同样需要多数票通过。“这不是爱国主义，”赫格塞斯说，“这是破坏。”
A simple majority vote is required in the House for the articles to be approved. If the effort is successful, the resolution is then sent to the Senate to decide whether to convict and remove Hegseth from office. Republicans could also make a motion to kill the resolution, which would require a majority vote. “This is not patriotism,” Hegseth said. “This is sabatoge.”