Scrutiny of Hegseth mounts as Democrats attempt to rein in Trump administration over Iran war – US politics live

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Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth is due to hold a press conference later this morning, in which he expected to update the media on the US-Iran peace talks.

It is due to begin at 8am ET and you can expect journalists to ask him about the impeachment attempt against him as well.

We will bring you any news lines from that here but you can also follow it via our Middle East crisis live blog:

The first impeachment article alleges that Pete Hegseth started the conflict with Iran “without a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization by the Congress,” and “knowingly exposing members of the Armed Forces of the United States to substantial and foreseeable risk of injury or death.”

Another article held Hegseth responsible for the strike on an Iranian primary school on 28 February – the day the United States and Israel began bombing Iran – which killed at least 170 people, including students and teachers.

The impeachment resolution is led by Yassamin Ansari, a Democratic Congresswoman from Arizona, and has slim chances of passing due to the Republican majority in the House.

“I’ve introduced Articles of Impeachment against Pete Hegseth for violating his oath, endangering U.S. servicemembers, and committing war crimes, including attacks on civilians and a girls’ school in Minab, Iran,” Ansari wrote on X.

“Only Congress can declare war; his actions demand immediate removal.”

Other allegations included “negligence and reckless handling” of sensitive military information, as well as obstructing congressional oversight, referring to Hegseth’s use of commercial messaging app Signal to discuss strikes on Yemen.

Scrutiny mounts on Hegseth as Democrats attempt to rein in Trump administration over Iran war

Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.

House Democrats filed six articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, accusing the defense secretary of “high crimes and misdemeanors”, in reference to the attack on Iran without congressional authorization and deadly strikes on suspected drug smuggling boats, among other official acts.

The move comes as the Trump administration faces mounting scrutiny over recent foreign action, particularly the war with Iran. The impeachment attempt can be seen as more symbolic than the realistic prospect of removing Hegseth from office.

In Wednesday’s resolution, Yassamin Ansari, a Democratic congresswoman from Arizona, and colleagues including John Larson of Connecticut accused the Pentagon chief of disregarding rules to minimize civilian casualties during armed conflict.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats again failed to pass a war powers resolution to curb the Trump administration’s military campaign in Iran in a vote of 47-52.

Republican senator Rand Paul voted yes on the measure, bucking his party, while John Fetterman was the only Democratic senator to vote against the resolution. It was the upper chamber’s fourth failed attempt but its first since Congress returned from its most recent recess and the ongoing two-week ceasefire with Iran began.

It comes as senator Bernie Sanders’ effort to block the sale of bombs and bulldozers to Israel also failed yesterday, although the votes reinforced the growing appetite among Democrats to impose limits on US weapons transfers to a longtime US ally.

It was the fourth time Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, had forced consideration of resolutions cutting off military aid for Israel in the Senate, all of which have been rejected by the chamber’s Republican majority, and many Democrats.

In other developments:

• Trump threatened to fire Jerome Powell if he stays on as US Federal Reserve chair past the end of his tenure and doubled down on a criminal investigation into renovations of the central bank’s headquarters.

• Wall Street scaled a fresh all-time high amid growing optimism among investors that the US-Israel war on Iran will soon be over.

• The supreme court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has delivered a sustained attack on her conservative colleagues’ use of emergency orders to benefit the Trump administration.

• Trump defended his consumption of diet soda by suggesting it might help prevent cancer, according to recent comments shared by Mehmet Oz.

• The US and Iran have been in indirect talks aimed at extending the two-week ceasefire beyond its expiry on 22 April, as Pakistan’s army chief arrived in Tehran to continue mediation efforts.

• John Eastman, the Republican legal scholar who convinced Trump he could stay in office despite losing the 2020 election, lost his license to practice law in California.