Republican Representative Thomas Massie has reintroduced articles of impeachment against United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, forcing the House of Representatives to act on the measure within two legislative days. Massie took the eight articles to the House floor on Monday, 9 November 2026, setting up a vote as early as Wednesday.

The Kentucky Republican's privileged resolution accuses Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanours and lists eight specific charges. Three of the articles accuse Hegseth of illegally waging war against Iran in violation of the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the law that limits a president's power to commit American forces to hostilities without congressional approval.

What the eight articles allege

The remaining articles cover a series of other accusations. They include an article on military operations in Yemen said to breach the same War Powers Resolution, articles alleging a failure to minimise civilian casualties and extrajudicial killings in United States strikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific, and an article accusing Hegseth of suppressing free speech in connection with disciplinary action against Senator Mark Kelly.

The resolution also cites the January operation in which American forces seized then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, which Massie characterises as the kidnapping of a sovereign foreign leader carried out without congressional authorisation. Presenting the articles, Massie called Hegseth a threat to the Constitution, saying he had abused the powers of his office and acted in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law.

A second attempt after the September recess

This is Massie's second attempt to bring the impeachment resolution to the floor. He first introduced articles of impeachment in September, before the midterm elections, but House Speaker Mike Johnson called an early recess and the House never voted on the original motion. Massie told reporters he believed the measure was more likely to pass after the election than before it, and he spoke for more than an hour on the House floor laying out his case.

Under House rules, a privileged resolution must be dealt with within two legislative days. House leadership can move to table the resolution, send it to committee, or allow a floor vote. Impeachment itself requires only a simple majority in the House, but conviction and removal would need a two-thirds majority in the Senate, making removal unlikely without substantial Republican support in the upper chamber.

Trump defends Hegseth as vote looms

President Donald Trump defended Hegseth at a surprise White House news conference on Monday, calling him a winner of two wars and dismissing the impeachment effort. Hegseth himself has dismissed Massie's campaign as politically motivated, defending his record at the Pentagon in a video released last week. According to the Associated Press, Hegseth will hold a rare press conference, his first in 180 days, at 8am on Tuesday, 10 November, to respond to the impeachment move.

The vote comes less than a week after Republicans suffered heavy losses in the midterm elections of 3 November, leaving the administration facing growing congressional scrutiny over the conduct of the war with Iran and its economic impact at home. Republicans currently hold a five-seat majority in the House, meaning a handful of additional Republican representatives would need to break ranks for the articles to pass.