Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, reintroduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday, alleging that the embattled Pentagon chief had committed “high crimes and misdemeanors” and abused the power of his office by violating the War Powers Resolution, conducting military operations without congressional authorization and ordering unlawful military actions in several countries.
The expected impeachment filing came as Congress returned to Washington, D.C., to begin a lame-duck session following the historic rout that the GOP suffered in last week’s midterm elections.
Hegseth is facing intense political backlash over the United States’ costly and unpopular war with Iran, which some top Republicans — including Trump — blame in part for the drubbing that cost them control of Congress.
Hegseth said on Monday that he’s “not worried about” the impeachment efforts. The defense secretary said he would address the topic at a press conference on Tuesday morning. It would be Hegseth’s first news conference from the Pentagon in six months.
“Despite the absence of a declaration of war, specific statutory authorization, or a national emergency created by an attack upon the United States,” Massie said in a speech on the House floor, “Secretary Hegseth knowingly executed and implemented unlawful orders to initiate war against a foreign nation.”
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.”
His actions thus “warrant impeachment and trial, removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States,” the Kentucky Republican said.
President Trump has pledged to support Hegseth while he faces impeachment.
In a Truth Social post Monday night, Trump defended Hegseth as “the most popular and successful military official” in the country, adding, “Pete Hegseth should be praised, not Impeached. Congress, stand up for Pete!!!”
Earlier, Trump told CNN at a White House press conference he would “stand by him,” saying that he believes Massie “has a lot of hatred in his heart.”
Hegseth leaves a meeting of defense ministers in the Philippines on Oct. 28.
(Pool via Getty Images)
Massie — who in May lost his bid for reelection to Ed Gallrein, a Trump-backed challenger, in the GOP primary — first introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth in September. But House Speaker Mike Johnson later canceled the final scheduled voting day before the midterm recess, delaying a vote.
It’s unclear whether an impeachment effort will succeed in the House, which is still under Republican control, but Massie told ABC News that he’s “confident there will be enough GOP defectors for it to pass.” To do so, the resolution requires a simple majority, meaning that just three Republicans would need to vote with all Democrats to prevail. A vote could come as soon as this week.
Trump has repeatedly insisted that he is not considering replacing his Pentagon chief, at least not yet.
“No, I think he’s doing a very good job,” Trump told reporters last week.
The president also said he was unaware of a report that Hegseth has been quietly angling to fill the U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by Tennessee GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who was elected as the state’s next governor.
“I think he’s doing a very good job, and I actually think he’d be very popular if he did that. But I haven’t heard that at all,” Trump said when asked if he would want the defense secretary to fill Blackburn’s seat.
CBS News, however, reported last week that Trump “has been asking advisers” whether he should stay or go.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host who has served as defense secretary since January 2025, has been Trump’s most visible cheerleader for the Iran war, which the U.S. and Israel initiated in February and which has led to surging oil prices.
He has also been among the advisers urging Trump to restart the war. He and Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, have supported a return to major combat operations against Iran during recent briefings on military options, the Wall Street Journal reported on Nov. 6, while Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff have pushed for diplomacy to end the conflict.
The U.S. Capitol building is seen in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4.
(Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
Trump acknowledged on Nov. 4 that the Iran war had partly contributed to the midterm election rout that handed Democrats control of Congress. Vance was unequivocal.
“The real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone,” Vance wrote in a lengthy post on X. “The reason we lost is the war.”
The vice president did not call out Hegseth by name. But other Republicans did.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, told CBS News that Hegseth faces “a reckoning.”
“He is one of the reasons why we don’t have the funding or guarantee for defense that we need,” Tillis said on election night. “I think after the election, we need to determine whether or not he’s the best person to bring those needs to Congress.”
Tillis, who voted to confirm Hegseth last year, recently called on Trump to fire him.
“I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country,” Tillis wrote in a scathing assessment of Hegseth on X in September. “He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force. I urge the President to find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it.”
Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said on Nov. 6 that “there’s a lot of questions about Hegseth.”
“We have no idea what the strategy is moving forward in Iran,” Comer told NewsNation. “No one’s happy about Iran.”
A fire burns at an oil depot in Tehran, Iran, on March 8 after U.S. and Israeli attacks.
(Hassan Ghaedi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
When Democrats take control of both the House and Senate next year, they will have the ability to call for hearings and launch investigations into virtually any aspect of the Trump administration — and Hegseth’s handling of the military is high on their list.
“In the majority, one of the first things we’re gonna do is run Pete Hegseth out of town,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader who is poised to become House speaker in January, said at a rally last month.
Hegseth, for his part, has remained defiant.
In a 5-and-a-half-minute video posted to X on Nov. 5, Hegseth defended the Iran war, touted changes he’s implemented as Pentagon chief (“We ended the weird and the woke”) and praised Trump’s leadership while dismissing Massie’s impeachment pursuit.
“A disgruntled, defeated congressman along with all his Democrat allies has dropped sham impeachment articles against yours truly,” Hegseth said. “It didn’t work with President Trump and it won’t work with me.”
