Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) on Tuesday introduced a resolution to impeach Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, referred to by the Trump administration as the Secretary of War, for “high crimes and misdemeanors” over the war with Iran and other unauthorized conflicts, military operations, and large numbers of civilian casualties that he has overseen.
Massie unveiled eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth, which he read on the House floor, and a vote is expected Thursday. Among the charges, Massie said that Hegseth is in violation of the 1973 War Powers Act by continuing the war with Iran without congressional authorization, which is outlined in the first three articles of impeachment.
“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 press release on the impeachment effort.
“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 added.
Article IV details how Hegseth has ignored US laws meant to minimize civilian casualties, and references the February 28 US strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, southern Iran, which killed at least 156 civilians, including 120 children.
“The elementary school was struck after Secretary Hegseth sought to repeal congressionally mandated civilian-protection requirements, dismantled the Department’s civilian-harm mitigation infrastructure, removed the senior-most Judge Advocates General responsible for independent legal oversight, stripped civilian protection from the National Defense Strategy, and publicly denigrated legal restraints on military force as obstacles to ‘maximum lethality,'” the resolution reads.
Article V, titled “Extrajudicial Killings,” details Hegseth’s role in overseeing the bombing campaign against alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific Ocean, which has killed more than 200 people since it began last year.
“By subjecting persons merely suspected of criminal conduct to lethal military force without judicial process, without Congressional authorization, and without establishing a lawful basis for treating such persons or vessels as military targets, Secretary Hegseth arrogated to himself and the Executive Branch the roles of judge, jury, and executioner and asserted a unilateral power to determine who may live and who may die,” the resolution reads.
Article VI addresses Hegseth’s efforts to chill the constitutionally protected speech of Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who faced retaliation from Hegseth after releasing a video telling members of the US military that they can “refuse illegal orders.”
Article VII, titled “Kidnapping of a Sovereign Foreign Leader,” deals with the US attack on Venezuela to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The resolution describes the attack as “an act of war against a sovereign country executed under the guise of narcotics law enforcement, though in actuality intended to assert US control over Venezuela’s oil reserves.”
The final article addresses the US’s bombing campaign in Yemen that began on March 15, 2025, and concluded on May 6 of that year. The resolution states that the “unlawful war in Yemen” violated the Constitution and the War Powers Act since it wasn’t authorized by Congress, and there was no imminent threat facing the US or its forces, which was made clear by a leaked Signal chat that showed discussions between Hegseth and other senior US officials.
In the chat, Hegseth himself said that he could “easily pause” the plans to strike Yemen before the bombing campaign began. “Thus, Secretary Hegseth knew there was no imminent threat to the United States, its territories or possessions, or its Armed Forces,” the resolution states.
The article also notes the large number of civilian casualties, with at least 224 estimated to be killed. The bombing campaign included two large-scale massacres of civilians, including the bombing of the Ras Isa fuel port in Hodeidah, which killed 84 civilians, and strikes on a migrant detention facility that killed 68 African migrants.
“Wherefore, Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth, by such conduct, 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, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law,” the resolution states. “Peter Brian Hegseth thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.”
