The US House, which Republicans control until January, has voted 211 to 204 to send a resolution to impeach US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to committee, effectively sending the process into a procedural black hole. Eleven Democrats missed the vote, including Representative Jonathan Jackson, who blamed a traffic delay.
Hegseth, in his first briefing in six months on Tuesday, rejected the claims at a news conference. Launching a counteroffensive against the effort in Congress, he described the military operations cited in the resolution as lawful actions ordered by President Donald Trump and notified to Congress. He characterized the impeachment effort as a “political spectacle” based on policy disagreements rather than impeachable offenses.
In the 250 years of our American republic, no Secretary of War or Secretary of Defense has ever been impeached for carrying out lawful military operations.
Pete Hegseth, to reporters
Hegseth said that Massie’s effort “tells our enemies — Iran, the cartels, every adversary watching — the United States will actually punish its own warriors and its own civilian leadership for successfully executing lawful military operations.”
Eight Articles of Impeachment Introduced by Thomas Massie
The move follows the introduction of eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth by Republican Representative Thomas Massie on Monday. In an official statement, he said, “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.”
The resolution largely focuses on the war in Iran but also references Hegseth’s role in military actions in Yemen against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and in Venezuela. Massie said Hegseth’s actions amount to “high crimes and misdemeanors” and that his leadership at the Pentagon “warrants impeachment.”
Massie had previously sought a vote on impeachment in September, but the House recessed without voting.