Nathan Howard, Associated Press

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held his first press briefing in 189 days on Tuesday morning, a day after Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced eight articles of impeachment against the Pentagon chief.

House lawmakers are expected to vote on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. EST on whether they will remove the Defense secretary, who has been in the spotlight.

Massie's impeachment articles accuse Hegseth of abusing his powers, including the Iran war, the killings of alleged drug smugglers in international waters and the U.S.'s capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

"Make no mistake about what is happening. This is not about me. Politicians in Washington have accused the sailors and the pilots who struck narco terrorist boats of war crimes for doing their job," Hegseth said at Tuesday's press conference.

"Senators in cute videos have suggested the same. This resolution is the next step. Put the secretary on trial today, and the men and women who carried out those orders tomorrow," he continued.

Deflecting Vance's remarks: Following Republicans' sweeping losses in last week's midterm elections, Vice President Vance blamed the results on the Iran war. In response, Hegseth said he was "not going to exchange any finger pointing" with the vice president and that he "greatly" respected Vance.

"Thankfully, politics is not really my thing. I do the Department of War and making sure we’re prepared and ready. So a lot of people are going to look at the conflict and assess it," Hegseth said on Tuesday morning.

So what if it's unpopular!: "It was done for the right reasons to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon," Hegseth said, defending the war with Iran.

"As [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio said, I think quite well, it’s not necessarily popular, but it may have been necessary, and that’s certainly how I feel. It was a necessary undertaking," he continued.

President Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday following the Pentagon chief's press briefing, saying "Hegseth gets an 'A' PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman, Thomas Massie, a TOTAL LOSER!"

💬 Follow today’s live blog

Is an impeachment possible?: Until January, the GOP holds possession of the House and Senate.

But with Vance's criticism of the Iran war being at the forefront of everyone's minds following the party's defeat in last week's midterms, there could be attendance issues, and it's not clear all Republicans will fall in line. 

Several GOP lawmakers including Reps. French Hill (Ark.) and James Comer (Ky.) have voiced their concerns over the conflict in Iran and the administration's handling of the situation.

“There’s a lot of questions about Hegseth,” Comer told NewsNation on Friday. “We have no idea what the strategy is moving forward in Iran.”

Key GOP no votes: Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb,), who has been critical over Hegseth and the Iran war, said he will most likely vote no on the impeachment because he says he doesn't align with it.

"Mr. Massie, who's anti-Iran, anti-Ukraine, anti-Israel. I mean, I don't really align with the impeachment itself," Bacon told reporters on Tuesday.

"I have separate complaints about the Secretary that's not in the impeachment," he continued.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters that he is "unclear why this is being taken up so quickly in the House.” 

"I thought he [Hegseth] made a very, very good presentation," Wicker added.

🔎 Read Ellen Mitchell's full recap on Hegseth's press briefing here.

Republicans in the House and Senate are set to hold leadership elections Tuesday after Democrats' sweeping midterm victories last week. But there are calls in both chambers to delay the process.

Surprise in the Senate: In a last-minute push on Tuesday, GOP senators decided to suspend leadership elections. 

The decision came after many called to delay the process.

“We’re still discussing. We ran out of time,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told reporters after senators broke up the meeting. They are planning to convene again at 2 p.m. EST to resume discussions.

Johnson on Monday had pledged to walk out of the room if his Republican colleagues proceed with Tuesday elections. GOP Sens. Mike Lee (Utah) and Rick Scott (Fla.) also pushed to postpone.

Senate conservatives have tried to derail Sen. John Thune's (R-S.D.) bid to serve another term as Republican Senate leader, attempting to leverage how he would lead the lame-duck session to push the last of Trump's agenda through a Republican-controlled Congress.

Thune told reporters Monday he’ll listen to his colleagues’ demands for delaying the election but indicated he doesn’t see a need to do so.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told CBS News he hoped to see a "different direction."

"This was the worst set of losses since Watergate, and Watergate was after one of the biggest political scandals in American history," Hawley said. "I mean, it's an incredible repudiation to the focus of this Congress over the last two years."

Meanwhile, in the House: Republicans in the lower chamber have been holding candidate forums this morning, and a final leadership vote is expected for later in the day.

House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) on Monday called for a delay so the GOP can reflect on midterm losses before moving on.

Contests are already underway though. House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is challenging House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) for minority leader.

Republican Study Committee Chair August Pfluger (R-Texas) is going head-to-head against House GOP Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.).

And Reps. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) and Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) are challenging current GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.).

The House vote is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EST Tuesday.

For the first time since July, gas prices have dropped below $4 a gallon on average in the U.S. after prices soared due to the Iran war.

According to data from AAA, a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.98 as of Tuesday morning, while diesel is still sitting at about $6.15 a gallon.

Despite the average, some states in the Northeast and western U.S. are still seeing prices above $4 a gallon.

Nevada, California and Hawaii have average prices close to $6 per gallon, while most of the South has dipped below $3.70 per gallon, according to AAA.

➤PELTOLA WIDENS GAP OVER SULLIVAN IN ALASKA

Former Rep. Mary Peltola (D) has continued to extend her lead over incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska's highly contested Senate race a week after votes started being counted.

According to The Hill's partner Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), Peltola holds 48.63 percent of the vote compared to Sullivan's 47.47 percent. The Democrat is currently leading by 2,517 votes with 72 percent of the vote counted.

Who is Alaska's first choice?: With Alaska being a first-choice state, Peltola or Sullivan will need to capture at least 50 percent of the vote.

If no candidate secures at least 50 percent of the first-choice votes, the election will automatically head to a runoff.

— 💻 House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) backed an effort Monday to pass new restrictions on China’s access to advanced AI chips through an annual defense bill amid a scandal over Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with an alleged Chinese spy.

— 🗽 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) declined to back Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as he prepares to seek his caucus’s support to become majority leader beginning in January. 

— 🎶 Despite Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) having her House race called against her by CNN on Monday, the lawmaker said that her reelection race is not over. “The fat lady ain’t sung yet,” Boebert told TMZ’s Jacob Wasserman on Monday.

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