From Iran to Maduro: What the 8 impeachment charges against Pete Hegseth say
Thomas Massie, a congressman from Kentucky, accuses the official of violating the Constitution and federal laws in the performance of his duties.
Thomas Massie officially introduced the articles of impeachment against the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. The Kentucky congressman accuses the official of violating the Constitution and federal laws in the performance of his duties. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on, refer to committee or dismiss the proposal this week.
This is not the first time Massie has attempted to impeach Hegseth. In September, he introduced a virtually identical resolution, but the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson adjourned the session before it could be put to a vote.
"My hope is that this will make it to the Senate. I don’t know if we have enough votes. I’m doing this because it’s the right thing to do," Massie said on the matter.
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What is Hegseth accused of?
The focus of the resolution is the war with Iran, which accounts for three of the eight charges.
Article I, the war with Iran: it accuses him of having initiated the conflict on Feb. 28 without authorization from Congress or an imminent threat.
Article II, the congressional order: it alleges that he continued fighting after both chambers passed a resolution in June ordering the withdrawal of troops.
Article III, legal time limits: it asserts that he continued the war beyond the 60 days permitted by law without congressional approval.
Article IV, civilian casualties: it accuses him of dismantling the Pentagon's safeguards to prevent civilian casualties, and links him to the bombing of a school in Minab, Iran, in which, according to Massie's filing, at least 156 people were killed.
Article V, the attacks on drug-smuggling speedboats: it describes the attacks on alleged drug-smuggling boats as "extrajudicial killings," which, according to the text, left at least 243 dead, including survivors of an earlier attack.
Article VI, Senator Mark Kelly: accuses him of retaliating against Democratic Senator Mark Kelly after he said that military personnel can refuse to obey illegal orders.
Article VII, the capture of Maduro: it questions whether the operation that captured Venezuela's former dictator, Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Massie asserts that the operation was carried out without congressional approval and describes it as "kidnapping."
Article VIII, Yemen: accuses him of bombing the Houthis in 2025 without congressional authorization or an imminent threat, and of continuing the strikes even though the president failed to notify Congress within the 48 hours required by law.
What is required to remove Hegseth from office?
To pass an impeachment against a cabinet member, a simple majority is first required in the House of Representatives, where Republicans currently hold a slim lead of 218 to 214. Starting in January 2027, Democrats will have a comfortable majority — the largest since 2020.
If approved by the House, it will go to the Senate, where a two-thirds majority of senators present is required — that is, 67 votes if all 100 are present.
The latest attempt at impeachment against a cabinet official was in 2024, when the House passed articles of impeachment against then-Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, but the Senate dismissed the charges without bringing him to trial.
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