Washington — Rep. Thomas Massie on Monday filed articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, alleging that he launched military action against Iran without approval from Congress and misused the authority of his office.
The effort could gain support from lawmakers in both parties as frustration grows over Hegseth’s management of the Iran conflict and Republicans absorb major losses in the midterm elections. Lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill Monday for the final stretch of the GOP-led Congress. Massie’s resolution requires House leaders to schedule a vote within two legislative days.
The campaign to remove Hegseth was already in motion before the midterms underscored voters’ concerns about the war in Iran and its effect on household costs. Massie, a Kentucky Republican who has repeatedly broken with the administration during the past year, first introduced impeachment articles against Hegseth in September. House Republican leaders then recessed the chamber early, delaying action until November.
By submitting revised articles on the House floor Monday, Massie restarted the two-day deadline for Republican leaders to arrange a vote.
In a 34-page, eight-count impeachment resolution, Massie accused Hegseth of committing high crimes and misdemeanors. Three of the articles allege that the defense secretary exceeded his authority by conducting military operations against Iran without congressional authorization.
Massie further accused Hegseth of disregarding laws intended to limit civilian deaths, pointing to an earlier strike on an Iranian school. Other articles address Pentagon boat attacks in the Caribbean, the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the department’s scrutiny of Sen. Mark Kelly after Kelly joined other lawmakers in releasing a video urging service members to “refuse illegal orders.”
Massie said Hegseth “has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law.”
“Peter Brian Hegseth thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States,” Massie wrote.
Massie called on the GOP-controlled Senate to consider the resolution if the House approves it. He said the articles would remain active into the next Congress, when Democrats are expected to control the Senate.
“If the Senate doesn’t deal with this before the end of this Senate, they’re turning it over to a Democrat Senate who can then have the trials and deal with it,” Massie told reporters Monday afternoon.
Jim WATSON /AFP via Getty Images 
Massie said he was being “polite” in his approach, warning that “when the Democrats get in charge, they are going to be very vicious.”
“What is an impeachment? An impeachment is just firing somebody, really. You don’t go to prison. You don’t go to jail. You don’t pay a fine,” he said. “But the Democrats are going to have hearings. They won’t have just eight articles of impeachment. … The Democrats are going to bring people in here who have served under him and with him, give them protection.”
Hegseth has dismissed Massie’s effort. Massie is leaving Congress after losing his primary earlier this year.
“A disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies, has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly, just like they tried against President Trump twice,” Hegseth said in a video posted on X last week. “You see, their policies don’t work, so their obsession with political theater disguised as power drives them to try to destroy their opponents. It’s all about the politics of personal destruction. Didn’t work against President Trump, and it won’t work with me.”
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“We’re not worried about that,” Hegseth told reporters Monday. He said he planned to hold a news conference about the impeachment effort Tuesday morning.
It remains uncertain how many Republicans will support Massie’s resolution. However, several GOP lawmakers appeared more willing to question Hegseth and criticize his performance following the party’s unexpectedly severe midterm losses.
Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Oversight Committee, said on NewsNation that “there’s a lot of questions about Hegseth.”
“We have no idea what the strategy is moving forward in Iran. No one’s happy about Iran,” Comer said. “I think the Republican voters are more upset about what’s going on in Iran than the Democrat voters.”
Rep. French Hill of Arkansas said he had not decided whether to back the resolution. Appearing Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan”, Hill said he wanted to hear the House debate before determining whether Hegseth’s conduct justified impeachment or instead warranted disciplinary action or intervention by the president.
“If you don’t think he’s done a good job conducting his job, that doesn’t mean per se that he’s committed an impeachable offense,” Hill said.
Rep. Don Bacon, a retiring Nebraska Republican who has criticized the administration on several issues, said he was still “wrestling” with the decision.
Bacon said Hegseth’s handling of several matters “bothers me” and that he felt the secretary “deserves a little bit of his own treatment,” while acknowledging that such considerations do not necessarily justify impeachment.
“I don’t think he’s been a good secretary, but do you impeach a guy for that? It has to be a high crime or misdemeanor,” Bacon told reporters Monday at the Capitol.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said impeaching Hegseth while the United States is engaged in hostilities overseas “would be a terrible, terrible look.”
Democrats are broadly expected to support the resolution. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that he was a “hard yes.” But because Republicans hold only a narrow majority, Massie will need GOP votes for the measure to pass.
Massie said Monday on X that some lawmakers have argued Hegseth has been effective and that they support the Iran war, meaning they would vote against impeachment. Massie said that misses the central issue.
“The question is whether he committed impeachable acts,” Massie wrote. “And the answer is yes, eight times.”
If impeached, Hegseth would become only the third Cabinet secretary in U.S. history to face that action. Secretary of War William Belknap was impeached in 1876 over corruption allegations, while Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was impeached by the Republican-led House in 2024 over the Biden administration’s handling of the southern border. Belknap was acquitted by the Senate, and Mayorkas’ articles were dismissed.
