Thomas Massie renews Pete Hegseth impeachment push, forcing House action
The Kentucky Republican filed eight impeachment articles against the defense secretary, starting a two-day window for House action.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Rep. Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican, renewed his push for a Pete Hegseth impeachment vote on Monday, filing eight articles against the defense secretary and setting a two-legislative-day deadline for House leaders to act.
Massie first filed impeachment articles in September, but Republican House leaders postponed action until after the election, according to CBS News and MS NOW. The new filing restarted the process, though it does not establish whether the House will impeach Hegseth.
When could the House vote on Pete Hegseth impeachment?
House leaders can bring the resolution to the floor, seek a vote to table it, or refer it to committee, MS NOW reported. Each route would require a majority vote. Wednesday was reported as the earliest expected timing for floor action, but leaders had not publicly said which option they would choose.
Accounts also differ on whether the House would vote separately on each of the eight articles. Al-Monitor reported that each article must receive an individual vote, while other reporting described the procedural choices facing leadership more broadly.
What Massie alleges
The articles are accusations by Massie, not findings of fact. Three accuse Hegseth of violating the War Powers Resolution through U.S. hostilities involving Iran, including by continuing military action without congressional authorization.
Massie also alleges failures to follow laws intended to limit civilian casualties; extrajudicial killings linked to military strikes on boats in the Caribbean; retaliation over speech by Sen. Mark Kelly; the unauthorized seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores; and an unauthorized war in Yemen, according to Massie’s office.
Massie told Al-Monitor that his central aim was to reclaim Congress’s war-powers authority. He said he did not know whether the measure had enough votes to pass.
Hegseth and lawmakers respond
Hegseth has called the impeachment effort partisan and said Monday that he was not worried about it, CBS News reported. A Pentagon spokesperson denied wrongdoing and said Hegseth intended to remain in office through President Donald Trump’s term, according to Al-Monitor.
Trump said after the election that Hegseth was doing “a fantastic job,” MS NOW reported. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he was a “hard yes” on impeachment.
Republican backing remains unclear. CBS reported that Reps. French Hill and Don Bacon had voiced reservations, with Bacon questioning whether poor performance alone qualifies as an impeachable offense. Al-Monitor later reported that Bacon posted he would vote to impeach, leaving his final public position unresolved in the available accounts.
The vote fight lands during the final weeks of the current Congress. Democrats are set to control the House and Senate when the next Congress begins in January, according to MS NOW.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.