Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky moved Monday to force the House of Representatives to vote this week on eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the war in Iran.1,2,4,7,8
The resolution accuses Hegseth of waging war illegally without congressional authorization and of abusing his authority as head of the Pentagon. The move comes days after President Donald Trump's Republicans lost the midterm elections, with the House still dominated by Republicans at the time of the expected vote.1,2,4
Massie originally introduced a 34-page impeachment resolution in mid-September accusing Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanors, specifically of advancing Trump's war against Iran without congressional approval. He is using a special procedure to compel action, which could bring a vote within two days. Other accounts describe the timing as later in the week or as early as this week.3,4,7
It is the second time in two months that Massie has pressed the effort. Massie, described as an outspoken critic of Trump, is outgoing after losing to Trump-endorsed Ed Gallrein, and he told MS NOW on Monday that he planned to force a vote on the resolution that afternoon. Several members of the Republican Party believe it will pass.3,6,7,8
Trump defended Hegseth at the White House, saying Hegseth had done a "good job" and had "won" wars in Venezuela and Iran. "I'll stand by him... He won two wars. He was in charge," Trump said.4,5
A day earlier, Trump had spoken differently about Hegseth while speaking to Fox News from West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday. Trump blamed Hegseth for the Iran war, which was described as one of the main reasons Republicans lost badly last week, and claimed the Pentagon chief was "one of the guys that was most responsible" for the conflict.3
Hegseth sought to downplay rumors about the push against him earlier Monday. "My team, we’re not worried about the noise," he told reporters. He said he would hold a press conference Tuesday, his first in more than 180 days, and defended the war as necessary, even if unpopular.4
Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries, described as the likely incoming speaker of the House, backed the effort Sunday. "I'm a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution," he told ABC News. "Pete Hegseth has got to go." Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas suggested that "one of the reasons the House has been out of session for a couple months is because they didn’t have the votes to stop a Hegseth impeachment" when Massie originally announced the articles.3,4,8
Retiring Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon told CNN's Manu Raju on Monday morning that it would be easier if Hegseth resigned. "I’m weighing it," Bacon said when asked about the proposed articles of impeachment. "Eight articles, and I’m not very sympathetic to those articles."3
"But the areas that concern me most about the secretary aren’t in the articles of impeachment: firing and redlining abiding generals or admirals; withholding appropriated money all year from Ukraine," Bacon said. "I’m not the only one that feels this way, there’s a bunch of us that have been talking about it." He added, "Some of us don’t feel comfortable with [Massie’s] justifications," describing Massie’s approach as libertarian, "but I think there are other ones out there."3
The scope of the resolution was described differently among the accounts. Most described it as focused on the Iran war and abuse of Pentagon powers, while TheBlaze said it also cited the Maduro arrest and boat strikes on suspected drug smugglers.1,2,4,8
Last week Trump mused about the possibility of effectively pushing Hegseth into Tennessee's open Senate seat, telling reporters Hegseth would be "very popular" as a replacement for Governor-elect Marsha Blackburn. The Hill reported that Hegseth had shown interest in the job and was actively campaigning for it behind the scenes. The Associated Press reported Thursday, citing a source close to Blackburn, that Hegseth was not in consideration for the seat, with the source dismissing the ongoing rumors as "baseless chatter."3
