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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the United States' lawful military operations at his first news conference in six months, days after Republican Rep. Thomas Massie introduced articles of impeachment against him. The articles allege Hegseth violated the US Constitution, citing the Iran war. BBC US and Canada reported that Hegseth called the effort a farce and a stunt. PBS NewsHour reported that Hegseth told reporters the House impeachment push concerns policy disagreements rather than high crimes. He spoke from the Pentagon, launching a counteroffensive against the effort. A House preliminary vote on the impeachment was expected as Republicans also chose their next minority leader.