US secretary of defense Pete Hegseth speaks to reporters at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. (EPA Images pic)WASHINGTON: US defense secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday denounced a push to impeach him as a "farce" and defended his record leading multiple military operations that have sparked allegations of misconduct against the Pentagon chief.

Under pressure after President Donald Trump and vice-president JD Vance blamed the Iran war for the Republican Party's sweeping losses in midterm elections, Hegseth now faces a congressional effort to remove him from office.

"It's a farce, and it's a stunt, and everybody knows it," a defiant Hegseth told journalists of the impeachment proceedings launched by Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican, the previous day.