Impeachment Resolution Introduced Against Secretary of War

Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) put forth a resolution on Tuesday aiming to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for “high crimes and misdemeanors.” He read eight articles on the House floor accusing Hegseth of breaching the War Powers Resolution of 1973 in relation to the conflict with Iran.

Massie lodged the resolution as privileged, which compels House leaders to address it within two legislative days. He spent over an hour reading the articles aloud before concluding his introduction.

In a news release, Massie stated that Hegseth had misused his position and should be held responsible for his actions.

“Secretary Hegseth is breaking the law and must be held accountable,” Massie indicated. “He is abusing the power of his office to ignore congressional war powers resolutions, kidnap foreign leaders, and intimidate critics of the Trump administration by retaliating against them for exercising free speech.”

The initial three articles contend that Hegseth’s department is “waging the Iran war despite no declaration of war, statutory authorization, attack on the United States, or imminent threat.” They also assert that he continued military engagement even after Congress directed troop withdrawals. The fourth and fifth articles accuse him of neglecting to minimize civilian casualties and of involvement in extrajudicial killings tied to strikes against suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean.

Massie’s seventh article charges Hegseth with the “Kidnapping of a Sovereign Foreign Leader” related to a January operation that aimed to extract former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from Caracas. The last article claims he executed unlawful orders in Yemen.

The Pentagon came to Hegseth’s defense, with press secretary Kingsley Wilson stating, “The entire Department is unified behind the Secretary’s vision and will continue working to put our warfighters and America first.”

Republican leadership might opt to table the resolution, which would effectively end it, but this would require nearly total unity among Republicans. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche refuted the basis for the resolution, noting that the situation with Iran does not constitute a war.

This development follows Hegseth’s campaign efforts in Kentucky for Massie’s Trump-endorsed primary challenger, Ed Gallrein, after President Donald Trump encouraged Republicans to “vote the bum out.” Massie, known for his libertarian stance, lost that primary in May after a split with the party over issues like Iran and the Epstein files. House Democrats had also introduced six articles against Hegseth in April.

Neither Hegseth nor the Defense Department had an immediate response to Massie’s announcement on the floor.