House moves to vote on impeaching Hegseth over Iran war, boat strikes

The House is set to vote as soon as Tuesday night on whether to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, after Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., filed eight articles of impeachment on Monday, Nov. 9. Massie said the House would likely take up the resolution Tuesday evening, probably beginning with a procedural vote to table it, according to CBS News. Under House rules, the chamber has two legislative days to schedule a vote.

Massie said in a news release that “the House of Representatives must act.” He also wrote that the effort is “a much gentler version of what’s coming when the Democrats assume control of the House and Senate next year,” and that President Donald Trump “should replace Secretary Hegseth now while he can still get a replacement confirmed in the Senate.”

According to Massie’s release, the articles allege the following:

• Article I says the Iran war was unlawful from the start because there was no declaration of war, no statutory authorization, no attack on the United States and no imminent threat.
• Article II says Hegseth kept fighting in Iran after both chambers passed H. Con. Res. 86, which directed U.S. forces to withdraw.
• Article III says hostilities continued past the 60-day termination period and any 30-day withdrawal period under the War Powers Resolution.
• Article IV says he ignored laws meant to minimize civilian casualties.
• Article V says lethal strikes on suspected drug traffickers replaced maritime law enforcement and caused at least 243 deaths. It also alleges denial of quarter, strikes on survivors, failure to rescue shipwrecked people and invented legal authorities.
• Article VI says he used Pentagon authority to retaliate against Sen. Mark Kelly for speech questioning unlawful orders.
• Article VII says he directed Operation Absolute Resolve to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores without authority.
• Article VIII says he launched Operation Rough Rider in Yemen without congressional authorization or an imminent threat, and violated war powers reporting requirements.

The release says Hegseth has engaged in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization.

Hegseth called the effort a “political spectacle” at a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday. “It’s a farce, and it’s a stunt, and everybody knows it,” he said, adding, “None of these are high crimes or misdemeanors,” according to CBS News. Trump then praised him on Truth Social, CBS reported.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said impeaching a Cabinet secretary during hostilities abroad would be “a terrible, terrible look.” He told reporters he expects the House to defeat the push, saying, “They had no due process,” according to CBS.

On Democracy Now!, the program reported that Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio say they are standing by Hegseth. It quoted Trump as saying Hegseth is “guilty of two things: basically, winning two wars.”

Until Democrats take control of the House in January, impeachment would need at least three Republican votes, assuming all Democrats vote yes, CBS reported. Absences could change that math. Convicting Hegseth in the Senate would require more than a dozen Republicans, the network reported.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said on Sunday that he supports Massie’s resolution. “I’m a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution,” Jeffries said, according to The Associated Press. Hegseth dismissed the push in a video as “all about the politics of personal destruction,” the AP reported.

Retired Master Sgt. Wes Bryant, a former Pentagon civilian harm official, told Democracy Now! that “Hegseth should be the first domino.” He supports impeachment, according to the program.

Massie, who is leaving Congress, is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, according to his office. A House vote to impeach would send the matter to the Senate, which would hold a trial that could end in removal.