Trump defends Hegseth, Kennedy Jr. against impeachment threats

US President Donald Trump on Sunday threw his support behind Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., dismissing impeachment threats from Democrats as misplaced aggression against officials he described as "very fine people."

Speaking to reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump praised Kennedy's public standing while expressing strong support for Hegseth's wartime leadership. Regarding the Defense Secretary, Trump argued that his only alleged shortcomings were essentially "winning two wars," referring to the ongoing conflict with Iran and the US military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. He urged Democrats to shift their attention toward national priorities, saying they "gotta get back to the country" instead of pursuing partisan investigations.

House prepares for impeachment vote

The President's remarks came ahead of an expected vote in the House of Representatives this week on whether to impeach Hegseth, who has vowed to fight the effort through a series of defiant videos posted on social media. Trump maintained that both Cabinet members remain essential to his administration's agenda despite mounting pressure from opposition lawmakers.

Trump addresses reported rift with Vance

Trump also addressed criticism surrounding Vice President JD Vance's recent remarks linking Republican losses in the 2026 midterm elections to the Iran war, suggesting that Vance should have expressed stronger support for the military conflict. "A lot of people didn't like his comments. But not me," Trump said, adding that while Vance was correct on most points, he should have included one critical statement regarding whether the administration would make the same decision to go to war again.

According to Trump, the answer should be yes. Vance, who had previously expressed concerns about war with Iran, wrote on the social media platform X that anyone claiming the conflict was worth its political consequences — including the possibility of Republicans losing Senate control for six years — should openly make that case. "If you'd like to argue it was worth it, then do so," Vance wrote, emphasizing that honest discussions about the party's future needed to begin with the electoral reality that had already cost the GOP its upper chamber majority.