Massie Forces House Vote on Impeaching Hegseth, but Hegseth Says ‘We’re Not Worried’
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., filed eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday, forcing a House vote on his future as soon as this week.
Massie filed the resolution as privileged, which means House GOP leaders must bring it to the floor within two legislative days, NBC News reported. Republicans could instead move to kill it, which would also take a simple majority.
Fox News Digital reported that the timeline puts the vote on Wednesday at the latest. Massie read the resolution on the House floor, as is custom, and the reading took more than an hour.
The first article charges Hegseth with “waging the Iran war despite no declaration of war, statutory authorization, attack on the United States, or imminent threat,” according to Massie’s announcement, as quoted by NBC News. “It establishes that the war was unlawful from its inception.”
Hegseth “has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the Constitution if allowed to remain in office,” Massie said on the floor, per NBC News.
The other articles cover alleged civilian casualties in Iran, strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, alleged retaliation against Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., the January operation that captured Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, and the 2025 campaign in Yemen, Anadolu Agency reported.
The resolution seeks Hegseth’s removal from office and his disqualification from holding future federal office, according to Anadolu.
Hegseth brushed off the threat. “We’re not worried about that,” he told reporters when asked whether he had enough Republican support, NBC News reported. He said he would hold a press conference at the Pentagon on Tuesday morning and told reporters, “I hope you’ll all come loaded for bear with your questions.”
Several House Republicans told Fox News Digital that the measure could pass, citing absences by members who lost their races and frustration with Hegseth’s conduct. Fox also reported that most Republicans are still expected to oppose it.
Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, a critic of the war, said he would not back impeachment. “I think it’s an effort to scapegoat Pete Hegseth for Congress shirking their own duty,” Davidson told Fox News Digital.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Sunday he is a “hard yes” on the resolution. Politico reported that the vote could draw support from members of both parties.
Massie, a longtime Trump critic who lost his primary in May, first offered articles of impeachment in September. Speaker Mike Johnson adjourned the House before a vote could take place, according to Politico.
If the House approves the articles, the case moves to the Senate, which would decide whether to convict and remove Hegseth. The last Cabinet secretary impeached was Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in 2024; NBC noted the Democratic-led Senate dismissed those charges.
Voter anger over the Iran war and higher gas prices is widely seen as a key factor in Republicans’ midterm losses last week, which handed Democrats control of both chambers in January.
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