A Republican congressman is planning to force a vote in the House of Representatives this week to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, alleging that he has violated the US Constitution through military actions. Representative Thomas Massie stated that 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.
According to BBC reporting, Massie formally introduced his articles of impeachment in a resolution on the House floor on Monday afternoon. The move initiates a 48-hour clock for the chamber to take up the measure, allowing lawmakers to vote directly on the resolution, refer it to committee, or set it aside entirely.
Details of the Impeachment Push Against Pete Hegseth
The effort is expected to face an uphill battle and will likely fail as Republicans remain in power in Congress until January. However, Massie explained that his primary goal is to push President Donald Trump to replace Hegseth before Democrats can launch their own full-scale impeachment process next year.
Massie, who lost his re-election bid earlier this year, has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration and the war in Iran since it began nearly nine months ago. He first introduced articles of impeachment in September and has brought them back following last week’s midterm elections, which resulted in Republicans losing control of both the House and Senate.
“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. Democratic leadership has already signalled openness to pursuing an impeachment effort against Hegseth once they assume legislative control in January.
Response from Defence Secretary Hegseth and the White House
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has dismissed the impeachment effort as a political “sham” and strongly defended his record. In a video statement released last week, he asserted that critics are attacking him because his department is effective. He labelled Massie a disgruntled and defeated congressman and maintained that he is not concerned about the proceedings.
President Donald Trump has firmly indicated that he plans to stand by Hegseth, praising his leadership during the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro earlier this year and defending his work regarding the war in Iran. Trump also highlighted positive recruitment numbers and expressed strong support from military personnel.
Impeaching a cabinet secretary remains an exceedingly rare process in American political history, requiring approval from both chambers of Congress to remove an official from office. The House has historically voted to impeach only two cabinet members, and the Senate did not convict either.
Source: Republican congressman to force impeachment vote on Defence Secretary Hegseth (source-feed timestamp 2026-11-10T01:38:49+00:00). AI-assisted report based on the cited linked article and its RSS feed; details were not independently verified.
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