Thomas Massie impeachment resolution against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Digi Mart USA News: A Republican congressman plans to force a vote in the House of Representatives this week to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, alleging he has violated the U.S. Constitution.
“By engaging in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization, Secretary Hegseth is breaking the law and must be held accountable,” Representative Thomas Massie said.
The effort will likely fail, given that Republicans will remain in power in Congress until January. But Massie says he wants to push President Donald Trump to fire Hegseth before Democrats can launch their own impeachment process.
Hegseth, who is scheduled to hold a news conference on Tuesday about Massie’s move, said he was not concerned. “We’re not worried about that,” Hegseth said when asked by reporters about the impending resolution earlier on Monday, adding that he would hold a news conference Tuesday morning “on that very topic.” His last news conference was in May.
Massie formally introduced the articles of impeachment in a resolution on the House floor on Monday afternoon. He first introduced impeachment articles in September and is now pressing for a vote after Republicans lost control of both the House and Senate in last week’s midterm elections.
He has said his push to remove Hegseth is meant to prevent a Democratic spectacle next year.
“My effort to impeach Secretary Hegseth is a much gentler version of what’s coming when the Democrats assume control of the House and Senate next year,” Massie said in a statement. “They will hold hearings and trials.” He also said, “President Trump should replace Secretary Hegseth now while he can still get a replacement confirmed in the Senate.”
Massie, who lost re-election earlier this year, is among the few Republicans who have been critical of Trump and the war that started nearly nine months ago in Iran. Impeaching a cabinet secretary is very rare, and the impeachment must be approved by both chambers for the secretary to be removed from office.
The House has voted to impeach only two cabinet members in U.S. history, but the Senate did not agree on either one.
Under the rules, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson must schedule a time to consider the resolution within two days. The House may vote on the resolution directly, refer it to committee, or set it aside.
Massie is likely to have Democratic support, with House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries saying on Sunday that he is a “hard yes” on impeachment, but Massie would still need to win over members of his own party.
The House has passed a War Powers resolution, a measure that seeks to halt Trump from taking further military action in Iran, multiple times this year with Massie’s support. Massie’s disagreement with Hegseth also goes beyond Iran.
He has accused Hegseth of intimidating critics of the Trump administration, kidnapping foreign leaders and ignoring congressional war powers resolutions.
