Outgoing Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky formally reintroduced an eight-article impeachment resolution against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the U.S. House floor on Monday afternoon. Because Massie introduced the measure as a privileged resolution, the move starts a 48-hour clock requiring the House of Representatives to act on the charges by Wednesday.
Under House rules, lawmakers must vote on the resolution directly, vote to refer it to a committee, or vote to set it aside before the two-day window expires. “I’m doing this because it’s the right thing to do,” Massie told reporters after reading from the resolution on the floor, according to the BBC.
What the eight impeachment articles allege
According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, the 34-page resolution sets out eight specific articles of impeachment against Hegseth. Three of the charges accuse the defense secretary of illegally waging war against Iran without congressional authorization in violation of the War Powers Resolution, a 1973 federal law that limits the president’s ability to conduct military operations abroad for more than 60 to 90 days without approval from Congress.
“By engaging in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorisation, Secretary Hegseth is breaking the law and must be held accountable,” Massie said in a statement.
The remaining five articles accuse Hegseth of:
- Ignoring laws designed to minimize civilian casualties.
- Overseeing alleged extrajudicial killings through military strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
- Suppressing free speech in connection with efforts to punish Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona over a video informing service members that they can refuse illegal orders.
- Capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier in 2026 without congressional authorization.
- Illegally waging war against Yemen in violation of the War Powers Resolution.
Why Massie is forcing a vote now
Massie first introduced impeachment articles against Hegseth in mid-September over the conflict in Iran, which began nearly nine months ago. He revived the resolution on Monday as Congress returned to Washington following last week’s midterm elections, in which Republicans lost control of both the House and the Senate.
Massie, who lost his own Republican primary earlier in 2026 to challenger Ed Gallrein after Hegseth campaigned for Gallrein, said his goal is to pressure President Donald Trump to replace Hegseth while the outgoing Republican Senate majority can still confirm a successor before January.
“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.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Sunday that he is a hard yes on impeaching Hegseth, while Democratic leadership has signaled openness to pursuing impeachment inquiries when the new Congress convenes in January.
White House and Pentagon reactions
Hegseth dismissed the resolution when asked about it by reporters on Monday, saying that the Pentagon was not worried about the effort. In a video statement last week, Hegseth called the impeachment push a sham and referred to Massie as a defeated and disgruntled lawmaker.
“You see, they attack me. They attack us because we are effective,” Hegseth said in the video statement. “It’s not going to work. We will not back down.”
Responding to Hegseth’s remarks on Monday, Massie told reporters, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting: “Well, he’s right about one thing — I’m a defeated congressman. I’m not disgruntled.”
President Trump backed Hegseth during remarks at the White House on Monday, praising military recruitment numbers under Hegseth as well as his leadership during the war in Iran and the U.S. capture of Maduro.
“We’ve made the world a lot safer place. Why haven’t we gone after all these other people that ran wars and lost?” Trump said on Monday. House Speaker Mike Johnson also opposed the resolution, telling reporters that moving to impeach the defense secretary during active hostilities abroad would send the wrong message to U.S. allies and adversaries.
The math in the House and Senate
Impeaching a Cabinet secretary requires a simple majority in the House, followed by a two-thirds vote in the Senate to convict and remove the official from office. Only two Cabinet members have ever been impeached by the House in U.S. history, and the Senate did not convict either one.
Republicans currently hold a narrow 218-214 majority in the House, meaning the resolution is expected to fail or be tabled unless nearly all Democrats vote in favor and several Republicans either cross the aisle or skip the vote. George Washington University public affairs professor Peter Loge told the BBC that the measure could still pass the House if enough frustrated Republicans stay away from the floor. Even in January, when Democrats are projected to hold at least 54 Senate seats with two close races still uncalled, they would remain short of the two-thirds Senate supermajority required for conviction without Republican votes.
Hegseth is scheduled to hold a news conference at the Pentagon on Tuesday morning to address the impeachment effort, while the House must act on Massie’s resolution before the 48-hour deadline expires on Wednesday.