Summary

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has moved to force a House vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, marking perhaps the most striking instance yet of a member of President Donald Trump’s own party publicly condemning one of his top Cabinet officials. The Kentucky Congressman introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth on Tuesday, including allegations that the Defense Secretary is waging the war in Iran in contravention of multiple provisions of the War Powers Resolution of 1973. One of the articles of impeachment also alleges that Hegseth is “suppressing free speech” by using the Defense Department’s “authority to retaliate against and intimidate Senator Mark Kelly for constitutionally protected speech,” after the lawmaker made a video with other Democrats reminding members of the military and intelligence community that they can refuse to carry out illegal orders. Another article that Massie introduced alleges that the U.S. military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife was carried out “without constitutional or legal authority.” “By engaging in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization, Secretary Hegseth is breaking the law and must be held accountable,” Massie said in a statement. “Secretary Hegseth’s constitutional violations extend beyond the illegal war in Iran. He is abusing the power of his office to ignore congressional war powers resolutions, to kidnap foreign leaders, and to intimidate critics of the Trump administration by retaliating against them for exercising free speech.” “If we are to remain true to our oath to ‘support and defend the Constitution of the United States,’ Congress must not turn a blind eye to Secretary Hegseth’s unconstitutional and illegal actions,” Massie continued. Massie said to reporters on Tuesday that he didn’t tell Republican leaders ahead of time that he was going to make such a move. The impeachment push faces a steep uphill battle given GOP control over the House. And even if the resolution were to make it through the lower chamber, a two-thirds majority vote in the Republican-controlled Senate would be required to convict Hegseth in order to expel him from office, likely making the effort dead on arrival. It’s not yet clear when exactly the House will vote on Massie’s resolution; the lower chamber is scheduled to leave the nation’s capital later this week for a recess. Massie’s move to impeach Hegseth comes as the Defense Secretary has faced widespread backlash—from Democrats and some Republicans—over issues such as the Iran war and his internal management of the Pentagon. Earlier this month, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina called on the President to replace Hegseth, after Dan Driscoll stepped down as Army Secretary—one of at least 20 military and civilian leaders who have been ousted or resigned from the Department of Defense since Hegseth took over the agency. “I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country,” Tillis said in a social media post. “He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force.” “I urge the President to find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it,” the North Carolina Senator continued. Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska, told CNN that he agreed “with the sentiments” that Tillis had expressed, though he didn’t explicitly urge Trump to fire Hegseth. “I hate to tell the President who he should hire and fire. I don’t know if it’s really my role, but I would say this: I would not—[Hegseth] would not be on my team. I think he is—he has not been a very good leader in many ways,” Bacon said. “I wouldn’t hire him myself.” Despite these Republicans’ criticisms of Hegseth, the President has continued to throw his support behind the Defense Secretary, saying that Hegseth is “doing a fantastic job” in the role. When asked about Massie’s measure during a press conference on Tuesday, Attorney General Todd Blanche replied, “Secretary Hegseth is doing a phenomenal job” and went on to say that “the Secretary of War doesn’t just go off and do things—he follows the law.” This isn’t the first time that Massie has clashed with the White House. Massie strongly voiced his opposition to the President’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” and criticized Trump’s actions in Venezuela. Massie also joined Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna to lead the push for the Department of Justice to release the files connected to the investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—an effort that Trump long objected to before ultimately signing the legislation into law last year after it was passed by Congress. Trump publicly attacked the Kentucky lawmaker for months, calling him “the Worst ‘Republican’ Congressman we have had in many years” and “a totally ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly.” The President endorsed and campaigned for Massie’s primary opponent Ed Gallrein, who went on to defeat the lawmaker in May.