Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), seen here September 16, 2026 at the U.S. Capitol, filed articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Monday.
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Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images
Rep. Thomas Massie has reintroduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, planning a vote in the House of Representatives within the next two days.
The Kentucky Republican’s resolution accuses Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanors and lists eight specific charges against him.
The allegations include:
- 3 charges for illegally waging war against Iran in violation of War Powers Resolution
- 1 charge for failure to comply with laws aimed at minimizing civilian casualties
- 1 charge for overseeing “extrajudicial killings” in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, including strikes on suspected drug boats
- 1 charge of suppressing free speech, brought as part of efforts to punish Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, for a video telling servicemembers they can refuse illegal orders
- 1 charge for the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro without congressional authorization
- 1 charge for illegally waging war against Yemen in violation of the War Powers Resolution
Pete Hegseth welcomes British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting to the Pentagon on October 15, 2026. Hegseth says any impeachment attempt will fail.
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Finn Gomez/Getty Images
Hegseth defended his record at the Pentagon in a video released last Thursday, calling Massie’s efforts “sham articles of impeachment.”
“It didn’t work against President Trump and it won’t work with me,” Hegseth said.
Speaking to reporters during an impromptu press briefing Monday, Trump voiced support for his embattled defense secretary.
“I will support him,” Trump said. “He won two wars. He was in charge. We all won.”
Massie has long been a staunch critic of Hegseth. In the GOP primary, Hegseth campaigned on behalf of Ed Gallrein, who went on to defeat Massie.
In response to Hegseth calling him a “disgruntled, defeated congressman,” Massie told reporters Monday, “Well, he’s right about one thing: I’m a defeated congressman. I’m not disgruntled.”
He added: “I’m being polite here. What is impeachment? Impeachment is just firing someone, really. You don’t go to jail, you don’t go to jail, you don’t pay a fine. When the Democrats take over, they will be very vicious.”
Massie said the effort also highlights the need to debate whether or not Congress has real war powers. The War Powers Resolution was largely ignored by presidents of both parties.
“What’s at the heart here is the balance of power between the executive branch and Congress,” he said.
Massie initially sought to introduce the impeachment resolution before the midterm elections, prompting Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to call an early recess to avoid the vote. This caused the resolution to expire, which is why Massie reintroduced the resolution on Monday.
The presumptive next Speaker of the House, Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has already signaled his support for an impeachment campaign against Hegseth.
Even Republican members who oppose Hegseth’s impeachment said the Trump administration could do a better job of making the case to Congress and the public what the plan is for the war in Iran going forward.
Rep. Warren Davidson, Republican of Ohio, told NPR that impeachment would be hypocritical given that administrations dating back to the Korean War have largely ignored Congress’s war efforts.
“I think trying to scapegoat Pete Hegseth is just status quo politics in Washington,” he said. “I think it would be a mistake to impeach.”
Davidson said lawmakers who want changes would be better off trying to leverage the power of the purse to keep money out of the dispute.
There could be enough votes to impeach Hegseth in the House, with support from all Democrats, Massie and a handful of Republicans. However, he is unlikely to clear the Senate’s higher threshold to convict and remove Hegseth from office – which requires two-thirds of the Senate.
NPR’s Eric McDaniel contributed to this report.
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