AUSTIN, Texas — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to travel to Austin today as part of the Arsenal of Freedom Tour, the Pentagon said.
The visit comes as Hegseth faces questions about the war with Iran, as contention continues to rise prices in the United States. Meanwhile, a U.N.-commissioned panel says there are reasonable grounds to believe the U.S. committed war crimes.
While on the tour, Hegseth has spoken about the war with Iran and the U.S.’s goals.
“More economic pressure only ensures that Iran really has the only choice they have is to come to the table and actually talk about their nuclear program, which is the president, what the president has demanded,” Hegseth said.
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Hegseth also said the U.S. can protect shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and keep oil flowing. He said in that interview the U.S. is not ruling out future military strikes.
During the tour, Hegseth is also facing articles of impeachment introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican. Massie accuses Hegseth of executing unlawful orders and continuing U.S. military operations in Iran without congressional authorization.
“I am here to get the price of food and fuel down for our constituents. We’ve got solutions, we just refuse to pass them,” Massie said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed back, “That’s ridiculous. It’s a publicity stunt by someone who wants attention. It will immediately be tabled, of course,” Johnson said.
He said, “Hegseth has done an extraordinary job, the Department of War. We’re in the middle of international conflicts right now, and we should not be playing games with national security. And I think that’s how the members see this.”
Lawmakers left Washington Wednesday a day early for a seven-week campaign recess. That means there was no vote on Massie’s resolution before they left, and the issue will not come up again until after the November elections.