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Outgoing Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky will reintroduce a privileged resolution this week forcing the House of Representatives to vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to his office and reports from CBS News and Military.com. The maneuver bypasses committee review and requires a floor vote within two legislative days, setting up a showdown in the lame-duck session that began after this month’s midterm elections. Massie first filed the eight articles of impeachment in September but House leadership adjourned early to sidestep the issue at that time. The resolution centers on allegations that Hegseth violated the War Powers Resolution of 1973 through sustained military action in Iran without congressional approval or an imminent threat to the United States.
Massie’s statement issued November 9 detailed charges that Hegseth waged war in contravention of the Constitution, ignored congressional resolutions, directed the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and launched unauthorized operations in Yemen. The Kentucky lawmaker, who lost a Republican primary earlier this year after President Donald Trump endorsed his opponent, said the defense secretary had abused the powers of his office and must be held accountable. A separate resolution introduced by Representative Shri Thanedar in December 2025 had focused on different accusations including mishandling of classified information, congressional records show. Massie has signaled he will proceed unless Hegseth resigns before the vote.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declared himself a hard yes on the resolution in an appearance Sunday on ABC’s This Week, asserting that Hegseth has abused his power, undermined national security and engineered a reckless war of choice in Iran. Jeffries added that the conflict has skyrocketed prices for Americans and made the country less safe, echoing concerns that contributed to the Republican midterm losses. Several other Democrats have backed the effort while a handful of Republicans joined them on a related war-powers measure that passed the House in June by a 215-208 vote, according to Newsweek. The bipartisan frustration has intensified after voters delivered setbacks to the GOP, which Vice President JD Vance has attributed in part to the Iran conflict.
President Donald Trump has defended Hegseth, telling reporters that the former Fox News anchor is doing a very good job at the Pentagon. Hegseth responded to the renewed impeachment pressure with a video message in which he called the push a sham, boasted of his reforms at the department and declared we will not back down. The defense secretary has faced criticism for his brash style at congressional hearings and for withholding details on war strategy, a CNN analysis found. Few Republicans outside the administration have publicly rallied to his defense in recent days.
The impeachment drive comes as the House and Senate have only six weeks of lame-duck sessions before new members take office in January 2027, PBS News reported. An impeachment vote would require only a simple majority in the House, a threshold that could be reached if Democrats hold together and secure support from a small number of Republicans, Al Jazeera noted. Conviction and removal in the Senate would demand a two-thirds majority, however, which remains unlikely given the chamber’s current partisan makeup. Paul Musgrave, an associate professor of government at Georgetown University, told Al Jazeera that knives are out for Hegseth following the election results.
Massie read the articles of impeachment on the House floor in September before the recess, a step that placed fellow Republicans in a difficult spot ahead of the midterms, according to a Military.com account. The charges also reference strikes on civilian targets, retaliation against critics and failure to minimize casualties during operations, the text of the resolution states. Earlier Democratic-led efforts, including one by Representative Yassamin Ansari in April 2026, cited violations of the law of armed conflict and obstruction of oversight, Congress.gov records indicate. The current push by Massie is expected to reach the floor as early as Thursday barring any further procedural delays.
