'Buckle up': Leaked photos ignite furor after unmasking Hegseth’s Iran ‘disaster’

A collection of leaked photos showing “major damage” to U.S. assets in the Middle East sparked renewed calls for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s removal, just as the House narrowly avoided having to consider articles of impeachment against the Trump Cabinet member.

“This is major damage to our bases that hasn't been communicated to the American public,” a deployed U.S. service member told CBS News on the condition of anonymity. “We're standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face.”

On Tuesday, a CBS News report revealed new photos it had exclusively received from “active service members” showing significant damage to U.S. military assets in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, including a Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft with its entire back half destroyed. The revelations come as Hegseth continues to downplay the damage Iran has managed to inflict on U.S. military assets.

“This is why SecDef Hegseth should be impeached and removed from office. What a disaster,” wrote Tom Ryan, an Arizona-based attorney and trial lawyer, in a social media post on X.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) informed the House Tuesday that he intended to introduce eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth, largely centered around his overseeing of the deeply unpopular — and allegedly, unlawful — U.S. war against Iran. Massie also said he intended to invoke House rules that would force his articles of impeachment to be brought up for consideration within two legislative days.

Those plans were foiled, however, after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) abruptly canceled all House votes for Thursday, which would have been the last legislative day before the midterms.

Democratic congressional nominee Fred Wellman, a U.S. Army veteran, said the leaked photos were “shocking” given that he had “served at some” of the locations pictured. Ali Abunimah, a prominent author and activist, appeared to mock Hegseth by sarcastically noting, reacting to the photo of the heavily damaged Boeing E-3 Sentry, “That plane looks like it just needs a lick of paint and it will be up and flying in no time.”

U.S. Air Force veteran and podcaster Ryan Sheaddemanded that Congress “Impeach Pete Hegseth immediately,” and Jeremy Johnson, a trucker activist with a substantial online following for his political commentary, warned that the revelations revealing the extent of the damage Iran had inflicted were “just the beginning,” telling his more than 670,000 followers on X to “Buckle up.”