Washington: US secretary of war Pete Hegseth on Tuesday described the impeachment efforts against him as sending a message to Washington’s adversaries that the US would punish its own military personnel and political leadership for carrying out “lawful operations.”

“In the 250 years of our American republic, no secretary of war or secretary of defence has ever been impeached for carrying out lawful military operations,” Hegseth told reporters. The briefing came a day after President Donald Trump backed Hegseth, saying that he had led the US to victory in “two wars” — referring to the Iran war and the US military intervention in Venezuela in January, which resulted in the removal of Nicolas Maduro.

The press conference was the Pentagon chief’s first in six months and came a day after Republican US Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky introduced eight articles of impeachment against him.