Massie Files 8 Articles of Impeachment Against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth | Truthout
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The articles charge Hegseth with waging illegal wars, engaging in extrajudicial killings, and suppressing free speech.
By Chris Walker, Truthout Published November 9, 2026 
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Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) has filed multiple articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and is forcing a vote on the measure as soon as this week.
Massie has leveled eight separate impeachment charges against Hegseth, accusing him of unlawful war or military actions in Iran, Yemen, and Venezuela; "ignoring laws that minimize civilian casualties"; engaging in extrajudicial killings; and suppressing free speech rights.
The impeachment resolution makes several mentions of the fact that President Donald Trump never sought congressional authority to wage a war on Iran, and that subsequent War Powers Act deadlines expired without any consequences. (Indeed, the articles of impeachment suggest that the White House violated at least three different sections of that law.)
"Secretary Hegseth knowingly executed and implemented unlawful orders to initiate war against a foreign nation notwithstanding the absence of congressional authorization, an attack upon the United States giving rise to the national emergency contemplated by law, or an imminent threat requiring immediate defensive action, thereby substituting unlawful executive action for the constitutional and statutory judgment of Congress," the document states.
The document concludes by declaring that Hegseth "has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to civilians, the lawful conduct of United States military operations, the integrity and credibility of the United States Armed Forces, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office."
An impeachment vote could happen as soon as this week. If a vote does happen, it's likely the measure will move forward, as a number of Republican lawmakers will likely join the entire Democratic conference in voting to impeach the defense secretary.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) has voiced support for the measure. "I'm a hard yes," he said when asked over the weekend about Massie's impeachment plans.
Hegseth's removal from office is a different story. It is unlikely that the current Senate will vote to remove Hegseth from his position — but it's possible that Trump will demand his resignation before a Senate trial even occurs, seeking to distance himself from Hegseth in the wake of Republicans' midterm losses, which have been widely attributed to voters' frustrations with rising prices due to the Iran war.
While Trump has publicly said that he has no intention of giving Hegseth the boot, the president has reportedly been surveying members of the White House on whether Hegseth should be replaced. Notably, Trump made a similar comment regarding his former Chief of Staff Susie Wiles before she was forced to resign late last week.
Even pro-Iran war Republicans are skeptical of Hegseth, with one GOP lawmaker telling Axios that the Defense Secretary's rhetoric has been "very damaging" in the party's efforts to justify the war to the public ahead of the midterm elections.
Americans are largely supportive of impeaching Hegseth. In an Economist /YouGov poll conducted mid-September, 51 percent of Americans said they back impeaching Hegseth over the administration "starting a war with Iran without authorization by Congress." Only 34 percent of Americans disagreed.
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Anyone think Trump will give him the boot first?
I think he might.
I stopped trying to guess what the clown wants, or will do. He faces a rebuke of his policies in both chambers with Hagseth if he doesn't fire the guy. Even though the article is skeptical of a Senate vote to convict, we've heard grumblings from Republicans there too. I just don't know if there are enough, or not.
At first I was confused on why go after Kegsbreath and then I read this part:
Kegsbreath accepted the orders and acted on them. trmp gave the illegal orders but Pete didn't have to follow them