Republican Thomas Massie Forces House Vote to Impeach Pete Hegseth Over Iran War

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie moved Tuesday to force a House vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, filing eight articles that accuse one of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet officials of violating federal war powers law over the Iran war and abusing the Pentagon’s authority in several other military operations.

Massie introduced the impeachment measure as a privileged resolution, putting the House on a fast procedural track to address it within two legislative days. The move places a Republican lawmaker behind an effort to remove a senior official serving a Republican president and gives GOP leaders little time to decide how to respond.

The first three articles target Hegseth’s role in the U.S. conflict with Iran. Massie alleges the defense secretary violated separate provisions of the War Powers Resolution by taking part in hostilities without congressional authorization, continuing military operations after Congress directed U.S. forces to withdraw and allowing the conflict to extend beyond statutory time limits.

Massie has accused Hegseth of keeping U.S. forces in Iran for more than 90 days without authorization from Congress. His resolution argues that the war was unlawful from its beginning and that Hegseth disregarded Congress after lawmakers directed an end to the unauthorized hostilities.

The War Powers Resolution generally requires the use of U.S. forces in hostilities to end within 60 days after the president reports the deployment, or was required to report it, unless Congress authorizes the operation. The law allows another 30 days in certain circumstances to permit the safe withdrawal of forces.

Presidents and Congress have disputed the reach of the 1973 law for decades, particularly over the extent of executive authority to conduct military operations without specific congressional approval. Massie’s impeachment push takes that longstanding fight over presidential war powers directly to Hegseth.

The other five articles broaden the case against the defense secretary.

Massie accuses Hegseth of disregarding laws intended to reduce civilian casualties and overseeing what the resolution describes as extrajudicial killings during military strikes on suspected drug traffickers. The congressman claims the maritime campaign resulted in at least 221 deaths.

Another article accuses Hegseth of using Defense Department authority to retaliate against Sen. Mark Kelly over speech questioning unlawful military orders. Massie also targets Hegseth over the U.S. operation that seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, along with separate military operations in Yemen.

The Pentagon defended Hegseth after the filing. Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson called him a “transformative leader” and said the department remained unified behind his leadership. Attorney General Todd Blanche also defended Hegseth Tuesday, saying the defense secretary follows the law.

Hegseth already faces a separate impeachment effort from House Democrats, who introduced six articles against him in April. Massie’s resolution raises the pressure because its privileged status requires the House to deal with the measure quickly rather than allowing it to remain pending indefinitely.

Republican leaders could move to table the resolution, effectively ending Massie’s effort for now, or allow lawmakers to consider the impeachment articles. Approval of any article by a simple House majority would make Hegseth the third Cabinet secretary in U.S. history to be impeached.

Secretary of War William Belknap became the first in 1876, followed nearly 150 years later by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in 2024. Belknap was acquitted by the Senate, while the Senate dismissed the charges against Mayorkas.

Any House impeachment of Hegseth would send the case to the Senate, where conviction and removal require a two-thirds vote of senators present.

Massie is approaching the end of his time in Congress after losing his Republican primary earlier this year. He said he waited until Tuesday to force the issue because lawmakers are preparing to leave Washington ahead of the November midterm elections.

With the House preparing to leave Washington, the privileged resolution puts the impeachment fight on an accelerated timetable. Republican leaders are expected to decide quickly whether to table the measure or allow the articles against Hegseth to move forward.