US Vice President JD Vance has defended Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth against the impeachment effort, calling the proceedings “absurd” and arguing that the move reflects opposition to his changes at the Pentagon rather than concerns over the US military campaign in Iran.In an X post, Vance rejected the suggestion that Hegseth had committed impeachable offences and criticised lawmakers for turning impeachment into a substitute for legislative action.“Has Pete Hegseth committed impeachable crimes? The question is absurd, and the answer is: obviously not,” Vance wrote.He argued that Congress had other ways to express disagreements over government policy but was choosing impeachment instead. Referring to previous efforts to impeach President Donald Trump, Vance said lawmakers were relying on a process that required less effort than passing legislation.“Legislation is hard. Impeachments are easy (and ultimately, inconsequential),” he wrote.Vance also identified two decisions by Hegseth that he believes have drawn opposition from lawmakers: shifting US military forces away from Europe and Ukraine, and restructuring the general officer corps.He said these changes, rather than the Iran conflict, were behind the effort to remove the defence secretary, describing the dispute as a challenge to the Pentagon’s established bureaucracy.“This isn’t about Iran, this is about the fact that Pete took on the bureaucracy at the Pentagon,” Vance wrote.Hegseth has separately dismissed the impeachment push as a “farce” and a “stunt”, accusing political opponents of attempting to stage a “show trial”. He has also faced questions over allegations that he used military powers without congressional authorisation and abused his position.