Massie to Force Hegseth Impeachment Vote as House Returns
The House of Representatives returns to Washington on Monday, and one of its own Republicans intends to force a vote to impeach the Pentagon chief.
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky has said he will force a vote on eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth when Congress reconvenes on 9 November. CNN reported that multiple Republican sources expect the measure to pass — an extraordinary prospect in a chamber Republicans still control.
Massie, who lost his Republican primary in May to a Trump-backed challenger and leaves Congress in January, has given Hegseth a single way out. “There is one contingency in which I won’t reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns,” he wrote on X on 4 November.
A vote forced by one Republican
Massie first introduced the impeachment articles in mid-September, reading the 34-page resolution on the House floor. The House then adjourned for the midterm elections without taking a vote, and Speaker Mike Johnson has dismissed the effort as a publicity stunt that would be tabled.
The Kentucky congressman plans to reintroduce the resolution as a privileged question when the House returns. Under House rules, if the parliamentarian agrees the resolution qualifies, the Speaker has up to two legislative days to schedule consideration — and the House can vote on the articles themselves or on a motion to set them aside.
Massie told Roll Call in late October that he intended to give notice in the week of 9 November, and CNN reported that several House Republicans told Fox News Digital they expect the measure to pass. Axios reported on Sunday that House Republican leaders were bracing for enough defections from their own ranks to carry it.
What the eight articles allege
The articles centre on the war with Iran, which the United States and Israel launched on 28 February. Three of the eight accuse Hegseth of violating the War Powers Resolution by waging the war without congressional authorisation and continuing hostilities beyond the limits Congress set.
The remaining articles cite civilian casualties, extrajudicial killings of suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, retaliation against Sen. Mark Kelly, the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and operations in Yemen.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari, a Democrat from Arizona, filed a separate six-article resolution in April. But Massie’s is the one with a live procedural path this week — and the one that has drawn support from Republicans blaming Hegseth for the party’s midterm losses.
Hegseth and Trump push back
Hegseth has refused to yield. In a video recorded outside the Pentagon on Thursday, he compared the campaign against him to the two impeachments of President Donald Trump. “Impeachment didn’t work with President Trump. It won’t work with me,” he said. “We don’t back down.”
The Pentagon echoed the message. Chief spokesman Sean Parnell said Hegseth “will not back down or be deterred by politicians seeking to score partisan points or launch phony investigations where no wrongdoing exists,” adding that the secretary was “100% committed to leading the Department until the end of President Trump’s term in office.”
Trump has publicly defended his defence secretary. Asked on 28 October whether he was considering replacing Hegseth, the president said: “I think it’s terrible. All they do is they talk about impeaching everybody. He’s doing a great job. He’s a great warrior.” CNN, citing White House officials, reported that Trump has told aides Hegseth should fight the impeachment effort.
The pressure on Hegseth follows a midterm rout that many Republicans now openly tie to the Iran war. Vice President JD Vance said the war was the reason Republicans lost, and CNN reported that Republican lawmakers and allies privately accuse Hegseth of persuading Trump to attack Iran with no exit strategy — and of overselling how quickly the United States could win. A former senior Pentagon official told CNN: “The pivot is starting.”
What happens next
Even if the House impeaches Hegseth, removal from office would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate after a trial — a far higher bar. Democrats won control of both chambers in the midterms, but they do not take office until the new Congress convenes on 3 January 2027. Any vote this week would therefore take place under the outgoing Republican-run House.
That is what makes the coming days so unusual: a Republican majority may be asked to impeach a Republican administration’s defence secretary, weeks before handing the gavel to the Democrats. Democrats are preparing their own inquiries into the Iran war, with Hegseth expected to be an early target.
For now, the vote has not been scheduled, the resolution has not been reintroduced, and no one has published a count. What is certain is that the House returns on Monday — and Massie intends to force the question.
