Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could face a House vote as soon as Wednesday on eight articles of impeachment accusing him of waging illegal wars, killing civilians and abducting a foreign head of state.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) told MS NOW he plans to force a vote on his resolution Monday. Once he does, House GOP leaders must act within two legislative days, and his resolution charges Hegseth with high crimes and misdemeanors on eight counts:
- Launching the Iran war without a declaration of war, congressional authorization or an attack on the United States
- Defying Congress by continuing the war after both chambers voted to order U.S. forces out of Iran, which the resolution calls a first in American history
- Ignoring War Powers deadlines by fighting on after every legal time limit expired
- Gutting civilian protections before a U.S. strike on an Iranian elementary school killed at least 156 people, including at least 120 children. The resolution says Hegseth “effected the murder of civilians.”
- Extrajudicial killings of at least 243 people in boat strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, including a follow-up strike that killed two survivors clinging to wreckage
- Suppressing free speech by retaliating against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) for telling troops, “You can refuse illegal orders”
- “Kidnapping of a sovereign foreign leader” in the raid that captured Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, which the resolution says was really about oil
- An unlawful war in Yemen that killed an estimated 224 civilians, launched even though Hegseth wrote in the leaked Signal chat that “we can easily pause”
The push has picked up momentum since Democrats won both chambers of Congress last week. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who is set to become the first Black speaker in January, said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that he’s “a hard yes.”
Two House Republicans told MS NOW the vote could succeed.
“I think the numbers are there,” one GOP lawmaker said. “I think he’s been incompetent. It’s been all about bravado and not about strategy.”
The same lawmaker said Hegseth should step down rather than make Congress act. “He needs to have the honor and the integrity of knowing that he’s done a bad job in service to the country in this particular position, and he needs to resign and save face,” they said.
A source familiar with Hegseth’s thinking said his team believes he has a solid defense because he “carried out the lawful and well-informed decision by the president.” His camp doesn’t expect a Senate trial before Congress adjourns, but it anticipates Democrats will try again next year.
Trump has stood by his defense secretary. “I think he’s doing a fantastic job,” he said after the election.
Massie, who lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger in May, first filed the articles in September. GOP leaders canceled votes and sent the House home early, pushing the fight past the election.
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