Impeachment proceedings begin against Pete Hegseth
Republican Thomas Massie has begun impeachment proceedings against US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Iran war and drug-boat strikes, while Donald Trump defends him.
How it was covered
- Sky News carried 49% of the airtime and concentrated on Trump's defence, Massie's case and the Senate arithmetic.
- ITV concentrated on Massie's filing, Democratic momentum and Hegseth's loyalty to Trump.
- Channel 5, BBC Two and Channel 4: not found in tracked broadcasts.
- GB News: covered online, not found on air.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
Formal impeachment proceedings against Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, have begun in Washington. Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman from Kentucky, filed articles of impeachment accusing Hegseth of breaching the Constitution by starting the war in Iran without congressional approval. The filings also cite strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
The filings highlight a US strike on a school in Minab in Iran. BBC News reported that the filings say the attack killed 120 children. Sky News reported that the attack killed 120 schoolchildren and around 200 civilians. BBC News said the filings describe at least 220 deaths on alleged drug trafficking vessels as extrajudicial killings, and call the seizure of Venezuela's leader, Nicolás Maduro, a kidnapping.
Sky News reported that Massie filed eight articles of impeachment, most of them arguing that the Iran war was unconstitutional. Massie said he did not accuse Hegseth of war crimes, but argued that Hegseth had violated international and US norms of war, putting American soldiers and sailors at risk.
Hegseth has responded defiantly. BBC One reported that he said he was not worried and would address the matter at a press conference the next day. ITV reported that Hegseth said he could not be more proud of what President Trump had done and the courageous calls he had made. BBC News reported that Marco Rubio said Hegseth had been doing a great job and worked very hard.
President Trump defended Hegseth at the White House. He said Hegseth had won two wars, in Venezuela and Iran, describing the Venezuela operation as flawless and saying nobody was killed. BBC One reported that Trump also said further strikes in the Middle East were unlikely and that the US was ready and loaded. Sky News described a chaotic press conference in which Trump appeared with Dana White, the UFC president, who said he did not want to be press secretary.
The proceedings are unlikely to remove Hegseth soon. Republicans still control both chambers of Congress until January, when newly elected Democrats take their seats. Any House impeachment would still require a two-thirds Senate majority for conviction. Sky News reported that Democrats have 54 Senate seats confirmed, with two races still being counted, and that the two-thirds threshold could become possible if high-profile Republicans join. BBC News reported that the move is intended to put pressure on Trump to dismiss Hegseth before Democrats take control.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 3 or more of 4 channels | ||||
| Formal impeachment proceedings were opened against Pete Hegseth. | ||||
| The impeachment effort was reported as unlikely to succeed while Republicans control both houses of Congress. | Reported by Sky News | |||
| Thomas Massie argued that the war in Iran and strikes on alleged drug boats were unconstitutional. | ||||
| Impeachment is effectively a request for the president to fire the defence secretary. | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | ||
| The impeachment filings cited a US strike on a school in Iran that killed 120 schoolchildren, with around 200 civilians reported killed. | Reported by BBC News | Not reported by ITV | ||
| Reported by a few · 2 channels | ||||
| President Donald Trump defended Hegseth, saying he had won wars in Venezuela and Iran. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | ||
| Only on one channel | ||||
| A Senate conviction would require a two-thirds majority. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | |
| Hegseth praised Trump's decisions as courageous. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Hegseth said he was not worried and planned to address the matter at a press conference the next day. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Thomas Massie said his impeachment articles did not accuse Hegseth of war crimes, though he said Hegseth had violated international norms of war and put US soldiers at risk. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | |
| Trump said the US was ready and loaded if the Middle East situation developed, but thought further strikes were unlikely. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC News led with the formal start of impeachment proceedings and the legal detail behind them. Ione Wells, its Washington correspondent, set out the allegations over Iran, civilian deaths and drug-boat strikes, then stressed that the effort is unlikely to succeed while Republicans control Congress. The report framed the move as pressure on Donald Trump to remove Hegseth before January.
- “the formal process of trying to impeach Mr. Hegseth has now begun”
- “it's a Republican Congressman, surprisingly, who is behind this attempt to oust Pete Hegseth.”
- “these are very serious allegations that have been made against him.”
BBC One West gave a shorter evening update focused on the political pressure on Hegseth after the midterm defeats. It reported Hegseth's defiant response and Trump's comments on Iran, including that further strikes were unlikely. It did not set out the full list of impeachment allegations in the same detail as the BBC News channel.
- “President Trump's Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is under pressure tonight as some of his own Republicans attempt to impeach him over his handling of the Iran war.”
- “Pete Hegseth has said that he's not worried about this, that he plans to address this all in a press conference tomorrow”
- “the US is ready and loaded, in his words. He thinks that further strikes are unlikely.”
Sky News gave the most expansive account, treating the impeachment as a political crisis inside Trump's own party. It covered Trump's chaotic White House appearance, a detailed interview with Thomas Massie, the eight articles of impeachment, and the Senate arithmetic. Its morning programme later weighed whether Democrats could reach a two-thirds conviction and noted market moves in oil.
- “President Trump has tonight defended his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, after impeachment proceedings were filed against him.”
- “Pete Hegseth won two wars.”
- “to get to a conviction, you need a two-thirds majority in the Senate.”
ITV1 framed the filing as the first accountability test after the midterm elections and as a sign of Democratic momentum before January. It highlighted Thomas Massie as a Republican rebel, Hegseth's loyalty to Trump, and the street protests outside Congress. Its studio analysis stressed that impeachment is effectively a request for Trump to dismiss his defence secretary.
- “A resolution to impeach Pete Hegseth, the US Secretary of Defense, or Secretary of War, as he prefers to call it, was filed in Washington tonight.”
- “I couldn't be more proud of what our president has done, the decisions that he's made, the courageous calls that he's made.”
- “effectively impeachment is asking the president to fire his defence secretary.”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 22:22 GMT
Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of Defense
ITV News at Ten · Mon 9 Nov
- 22:19 GMT
- 22:22 GMT
Thomas Massie, Republican congressman
The Wrap With Anna Botting · Mon 9 Nov
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.