Pete Hegseth

An attempt to impeach US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has begun in Congress, led by Republican congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky. The filings allege that Hegseth broke the Constitution by starting the war in Iran without congressional approval. They also cite a US strike on a school in Iran. BBC News and BBC One reported that the strike killed 120 children; Sky News said it killed 120 schoolchildren and around 200 civilians. BBC News reported further allegations of extrajudicial killings of at least 220 people on alleged drug trafficking boats. It said the filings describe the seizure of Venezuela's leader Nicolás Maduro as a kidnapping. Sky News reported that the filings contained eight articles. It said Massie did not accuse Hegseth of war crimes, but said Hegseth had violated international norms and US conventions of war and put US soldiers and sailors at risk.

Hegseth said he was not worried about the move and planned to address it at a press conference the next day, BBC One reported. President Trump defended Hegseth, saying he had won wars in Venezuela and Iran and describing the Venezuela operation as flawless. BBC One reported that Trump also said the US was 'ready and loaded' if the situation in the Middle East developed, but that he thought further strikes were unlikely.

The move followed Republican losses in the midterm elections the previous week. It is unlikely to succeed at this stage because Republicans still control both houses of Congress until January, and removal in the Senate would require a two-thirds majority. BBC News reported that the effort was intended to increase pressure on Trump to remove Hegseth before the Democrats take control.