Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Monday reintroduced eight articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and read them on the House floor. Massie said that took more than an hour. He filed the measure as a privileged resolution as soon as the House opened for its first day of sessions after the midterms, a procedure that forces leaders to consider it within two legislative days and, Fox News reported, puts a vote on Wednesday at the latest.
The House can vote on the articles themselves. Before that, leaders can move to table the resolution or refer it to committee, either of which would effectively kill it. A motion to kill it takes a majority, and so does impeachment. If the House impeached Hegseth, the Senate would hold a trial and could convict and remove him only by a two-thirds vote. Both chambers are required to take him out of office — unlike a no-confidence vote, a House impeachment alone does not remove anyone. Reuters set out the expected vote this week.
Not an Impeachable Offense.
Personal, political, and policy disagreements do not rise to a high crime, a misdemeanor, or an impeachable offense. The proper remedy for a policy disagreement is legislation, not impeachment.
Hegseth, asked Monday whether he has enough Republican support to defeat the effort, said, “We’re not worried about that.” He said he will hold a Pentagon press conference Tuesday morning “on that very topic” and told reporters, “I hope you’ll all come loaded for bear with your questions.” It would be his first such conference since May. In a video released last Thursday, he called Massie’s effort “sham articles of impeachment” and said, “Didn’t work against President Trump and it won’t work with me.” Fox News described a Friday video in which he called the effort a “shame” that “won’t work.”
Massie, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, is leaving Congress at the end of the year. NPR reported that Hegseth campaigned for Ed Gallrein, who defeated Massie. Massie first introduced the articles in September and tried to bring them to the floor before the midterms. NPR said Speaker Mike Johnson called an early recess to avoid the vote, and the resolution expired, which is why Massie refiled on Monday.
In a statement, Massie said: “By engaging in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization, Secretary Hegseth is breaking the law and must be held accountable.” His “constitutional violations extend beyond the illegal war in Iran,” the Kentucky Republican said. “He is abusing the power of his office to ignore congressional war powers resolutions, to kidnap foreign leaders, and to intimidate critics of the Trump administration by retaliating against them for exercising free speech.”
He also called the push “a much gentler version of what’s coming when the Democrats assume control of the House and Senate next year” and said President Trump “should replace Secretary Hegseth now while he can still get a replacement confirmed in the Senate.”
The Eight Articles.
The eight articles start with the Iran war. Article I charges Hegseth with waging it with no declaration of war, statutory authorization, or imminent threat, and calls it “unlawful from its inception.” Article II accuses him of continuing after both houses directed the removal of U.S. forces through H. Con. Res. 86. Article III accuses him of staying past the War Powers Resolution’s 60-day limit: the president must notify Congress within 48 hours of introducing forces into hostilities, and those hostilities must end within 60 days, plus a possible 30-day withdrawal, unless Congress has declared war or authorized the use of force.
The rest accuse him of ignoring laws meant to minimize civilian casualties; of “extrajudicial killings” of suspected drug traffickers “resulting in at least 243 deaths”; of retaliating against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) over a video telling service members they can refuse illegal orders; of directing Operation Absolute Resolve to seize Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores; and of launching an unauthorized war in Yemen.
The administration says none of this is an impeachable offense. It calls the Iran campaign, Operation Epic Fury, a lawful exercise of the President’s commander-in-chief authority, says Congress was notified within 48 hours and kept informed, and argues later operations were “strictly defensive.” It says the military never targets civilians; that Caribbean boat strikes hit narco-terrorists affiliated with designated terrorist organizations — Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker said in December he had “seen no evidence of war crimes”; that Kelly “counseled servicemembers to disobey lawful orders,” a matter now in federal court; that Maduro had no head of state immunity after fraudulent elections; and that the Yemen campaign concluded inside the 60-day window.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday he was a “hard yes” on impeaching Hegseth: “The so-called secretary of defense has abused his power, undermined our national security and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed prices on the American people and made the country less safe.”
Several House Republicans privately told Fox News last week they believed Hegseth could be impeached, citing absences among Republicans who lost their seats and negative sentiment toward his conduct.
The House has impeached a cabinet secretary twice before. In 1876, it impeached Secretary of War William W. Belknap for accepting payments in exchange for making official appointments. Belknap resigned minutes before the vote; the House impeached him anyway; the Senate produced a majority against him on each article but fell short of two-thirds and acquitted him. In 2024, the House impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the border; the Democrat-led Senate voted to dismiss the charges. A House impeachment of Hegseth would be the third of a cabinet secretary.
Hegseth’s Pentagon press conference is Tuesday morning. The House has until Wednesday.
