Republican Lawmaker Forces House Vote to Impeach Defense Secretary Hegseth

Representative Thomas Massie introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday, forcing a House vote within two days over unauthorized military operations in Iran.

The Kentucky Republican formally filed the resolution on the House floor, setting off a two-day deadline for House Speaker Mike Johnson to schedule consideration of the measure.

The effort follows midterm election losses that cost Republicans control of both chambers of Congress starting in January, intensifying GOP divisions over the conflict in Iran.

"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.

Massie said his resolution aimed to press President Donald Trump to replace Hegseth before Democrats take power next year and conduct their own investigations.

"President Trump should replace Secretary Hegseth now while he can still get a replacement confirmed in the Senate," Massie said in a statement.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries expressed support for the impeachment push during an interview on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.

"I'm a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution," Jeffries said, adding that Hegseth had engineered a costly war in Iran.

Hegseth dismissed the impeachment push and said he was not concerned about the resolution.

"We're not worried about that," Hegseth said to reporters on Monday, announcing a press conference at the Pentagon for Tuesday morning.

Speaking at the Naval War College in Rhode Island on Tuesday, Hegseth said critics of the military actions had policy disagreements with success.

Speaker Johnson opposed the resolution, saying that impeaching a defense leader during military hostilities abroad would be terrible for allies and enemies to see.

According to NPR, Representative Warren Davidson, an Ohio Republican, called the impeachment attempt a mistake and suggested lawmakers use spending bills to withhold money from the conflict.

Impeaching a cabinet member remains rare in American history, with the House voting to impeach only two cabinet members previously, neither of whom was convicted by the Senate.

While the resolution could pass the House with Democratic support and a few Republicans, conviction in the Senate requires a two-thirds majority, which reporting indicates is unlikely.