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Representative Thomas Massie on Tuesday filed eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing him of violating the War Powers Resolution and committing other abuses of power tied to U.S. military operations.
The 34-page filing escalates an increasingly public dispute over the Trump administration's conduct of the Iran war and congressional authority over military action. Massie introduced the articles under House Rule IX, a procedural mechanism that can compel House consideration of impeachment-related matters without leadership approval.
While the impeachment effort is unlikely to advance in the Republican-controlled House, and is now delayed until after the midterm elections, it places renewed scrutiny on Hegseth as lawmakers voted in favor of another Iran war powers resolution.
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Massie, a lame-duck Kentucky Republican who lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger, says Hegseth's conduct rises to the level of "high crimes and misdemeanors," warranting impeachment. The lawmaker accuses the defense secretary of helping prosecute an unauthorized war in Iran, weakening civilian casualty protections, retaliating against a U.S. senator and authorizing military operations in Venezuela and Yemen without proper legal authority.
"Peter Brian Hegseth warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office," Massie said on the House floor.
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Hegseth Impeachment Vote Delayed Until After Midterms
House Republicans will now leave Washington on Wednesday night after GOP leaders canceled votes scheduled for Thursday, delaying consideration of Massie's privileged impeachment resolution against Hegseth until after the November midterm elections.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said the decision was intended to allow members to return to their districts and campaign.
“It’s time for our members to go home to their districts and make their case to the American people. To go and explain all the great things we’ve done. You’ve seen the record. You’ve seen what we’ve delivered ... the largest middle- and working-class tax cut in U.S. history. We have the violent crime rate at a 126-year low,” Johnson told reporters.
Massie's resolution will remain pending when lawmakers return after Election Day.
Johnson said Massie's effort to impeach Hegseth was “a stunt.”
“Secretary Hegseth has done an extraordinary job at the Department of War,” Johnson said Wednesday.
Later Wednesday, during an hour-long speech on the House floor, Massie sharply criticized Johnson's leadership and attacked what he described as the "uniparty," arguing that both major parties too often act in concert with well-connected political and corporate interests.
The Kentucky Republican also took aim at Hegseth, condemning the U.S. involvement in what he described as a "stupid war" in Iran. Massie derided the defense secretary's leadership and ridiculed his push to rename the Department of Defense the "Department of War," arguing such a change would require congressional authorization.
“Hell, you can't even rename a post office without us,” he said.
When reached for comment via email on Wednesday, Massie's office directed Newsweek to his post on X.
Trump Administration Defends Hegseth and Iran War
The Trump administration has maintained that the military campaign against Iran, which began in February, is lawful under President Donald Trump's constitutional authority as commander in chief. The White House says the operation is necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, protect U.S. forces and allies in the Middle East, and support Israel amid the ongoing conflict. Opponents, including Massie and other lawmakers, argue the war required explicit congressional authorization under the War Powers Resolution and dispute the administration's claim that the "hostilities" triggering the law ended earlier this year.
In response to Massie's impeachment articles, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson told Newsweek via email, “Secretary Hegseth has been a transformative leader for the Department of War. Standards and merit are back, our arsenal is stronger than ever before, and morale and recruitment across every service are at all-time highs. Secretary Hegseth has slashed bureaucracy, unleashed innovation, and delivered for our warfighters every step of the way.
Wilson continued, "By every measurable metric, the Department of War is better under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s leadership than before. The entire Department is unified behind the Secretary’s vision and will continue working to put our warfighters and America first.”
Newsweek has reached out to the White House via email on Tuesday afternoon for comment.
Massie's impeachment effort comes as House lawmakers again voted in favor of legislation aimed at ending U.S. military involvement in Iran, with members debating a new war powers resolution Tuesday that would direct President Trump to remove U.S. forces from the conflict. The vote passed Tuesday night with 220 yays and 204 nays. Seven Republicans voted in favor of the resolution, including Massie.
The Kentucky Republican has argued that Congress, not the executive branch, should decide whether the United States remains at war with Iran. The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated the conflict had cost the Pentagon $38 billion, and the war's impact on global energy markets has contributed to higher oil and gasoline prices, underscoring the economic as well as constitutional stakes of the military campaign.
Speaking with CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday night, Massie was asked why he didn't tell Republican leaders of his plans. "Every time they see the hand that I'm going to play, they get a chance to react," he replied in part, while citing the Epstein Files Transparency Act II.
"I didn't want to show my hand, I didn't show it to anybody," Massie added. He also told Collins he has not heard from House Speaker Mike Johnson regarding the new articles of impeachment push.
The dispute is unfolding in the final stretch of the midterm campaign, as rising energy costs and the mounting financial toll of the Iran conflict threaten to become political liabilities for Republicans defending their congressional majorities.
Attorney General Todd Blanche defended Hegseth and dismissed the premise of Massie's allegations, saying Tuesday at a White House Rose Garden press conference that the defense secretary "is doing a phenomenal job" and follows the law rather than acting independently.
Blanche said the Justice Department plays an active role in ensuring military actions comply with applicable legal requirements and rejected characterizations of the conflict as a "war," noting that Congress has repeatedly voted on related questions. He argued those votes show that neither Hegseth nor President Trump is "doing anything wrong."
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Why Massie Says Hegseth Should Be Impeached
The eight articles of impeachment accuse Hegseth of repeatedly exceeding his legal authority in military and national security matters.
- Articles I-III focus on the Iran war, alleging Hegseth violated multiple provisions of the War Powers Resolution by participating in and continuing military operations without congressional authorization and despite congressional efforts to end U.S. involvement.
- Article IV accuses Hegseth of disregarding laws and policies intended to minimize civilian casualties during military operations.
- Article V alleges unlawful killings in counternarcotics operations, claiming the Pentagon replaced traditional law-enforcement efforts with lethal military actions against suspected drug traffickers that resulted in hundreds of deaths.
- Article VI accuses Hegseth of suppressing free speech by allegedly using Defense Department authority to retaliate against Senator Mark Kelly after Kelly criticized military actions and orders.
- Article VII alleges Hegseth directed an unauthorized operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores, characterizing it as the unlawful seizure of foreign leaders.
- Article VIII centers on U.S. military operations in Yemen, alleging Hegseth initiated and continued hostilities without congressional approval while also contributing to civilian casualties and attacks on protected persons and sites.
What Is House Rule IX?
House Rule IX in the House of Representatives, adopted in 1880, allows any member to force a vote on impeachment without a need for approval from House leadership.
Massie invoked Rule IX when introducing his articles of impeachment against Hegseth, forcing the House to confront the measure rather than leaving it solely in the hands of Republican leaders.
Rule IX also covers questions of privilege, a safeguard for institutional integrity that prevents the House leadership or majority from burying, ignoring or indefinitely delaying matters that affect the House's integrity or constitutional responsibility.
Massie Speaks Out on Hegseth Impeachment Argument
Later Tuesday, Massie told Redacted News that the conflict risked escalating into nuclear war and argued that the Trump administration had continued military operations far beyond the War Powers Resolution’s 60-day limit without congressional authorization. He accused the administration of artificially treating successive military actions as separate conflicts to avoid that deadline and said impeachment was necessary because earlier congressional efforts had not forced the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
“This could turn into a nuclear war. This is not a game. People are dying, civilians are dying. Members of the military are giving their lives for this,” Massie said. “It’s not a declared war. There’s not any authorization. We are almost 180 days into this war, and it’s still unauthorized. The legal scaffolding that they have constructed is so ridiculous to try to justify or establish a predicate for this that it requires impeachment to stop it.”
articles-of-impeachment-sec-hegseth.pdf.PDF
Hegseth's First Impeachment Threat
In April, Democratic Representative Yassamin Ansari, an Iranian American, introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth over the U.S. war in Iran. A dozen Democrats signed on as cosponsors of the six articles, three of which are “unauthorized war against Iran,” “abuse of power and politicization of the armed forces,” and “violations of the law of armed conflict and targeting of civilians.”
“Pete Hegseth broke his oath to the Constitution, put U.S. troops at grave risk through the unauthorized disclosure of classified information, engaged in abuse of office and conduct beneath the dignity of his office, and carried out unlawful military actions despite his obligation to refuse—including strikes on civilians and a girls’ school in Minab, Iran. Hegseth’s conduct meets the threshold of high crimes and misdemeanors and warrants immediate removal by Congress,” Ansari said in an announcement introducing the articles of impeachment.
The Democratic-led impeachment push did not move forward in the House and never reached a floor vote.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Sam Wilson, Gray R. Thomas.
Update 9/16/26, 3:29 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.
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