A Republican congressman read eight articles of impeachment against the defense secretary on the House floor on Monday and filed them in a form that forces the House to act within two legislative days. A vote could come as early as Wednesday.
Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky filed the resolution as a privileged measure, the procedure that starts the two-day clock. The articles accuse Pete Hegseth of waging war against Iran without congressional approval, including what Massie’s office describes as three violations of the War Powers Resolution of 1973, of launching lethal strikes against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean, and of ignoring laws passed by Congress to limit civilian deaths in military operations.
“Hegseth has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to civilians, the lawful conduct of United States military operations, the integrity and credibility of the United States Armed Forces, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office,” Massie wrote in the resolution.
This is Massie’s second attempt. He first filed the articles in September, and House leaders sent lawmakers home early so the measure expired before any vote. He lost his Republican primary in May and leaves Congress in January. He has said the only things that would stop this attempt are Hegseth resigning or President Trump firing him.
House Speaker Mike Johnson opposes the effort, saying impeachment “in the middle of hostilities abroad” would be “a terrible thing for our allies and our enemies to see.” Leaders still have options short of a straight vote on the articles: they can move to table the resolution, which kills it, or send it to a committee. Each of those is also a recorded vote.
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in line to become speaker in January, said on Sunday that he will support the impeachment. Congressional sources told Reuters the resolution may have the simple majority needed to pass in the House as currently composed, which Republicans still control until January 3. If the House did impeach Hegseth, removing him would then require two thirds of the Senate, which is considered unlikely.
Trump continues to back Hegseth, as our lame-duck session explainer reported this morning. The articles are allegations in a political charging document. They are not findings by a court or an inspector general, and Hegseth has defended the Iran war and the strikes as lawful uses of his authority.
Transparency note: This story is based on Reuters and USA Today reporting and on the statement from Representative Massie’s office. The charges are summarized from that statement; the full resolution runs 34 pages.
