Pete Hegseth targeted by impeachment proceedings in the US Congress

A Republican lawmaker from Kentucky filed eight articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Monday, accusing him of waging a war against Iran without Congressional authorization. The procedure comes amid rising tensions following the midterm elections won by the Democrats.

Thomas Massie, a Republican representative from Kentucky known for his critical stance toward Donald Trump, filed a resolution on Monday aiming to impeach Pete Hegseth. The text includes eight charges, including the illegal conduct of war against Iran without legislative mandate, as well as abuses of power at the head of the Pentagon.

Massie used a special parliamentary procedure that could force the House of Representatives to vote on the resolution within two days. The lower chamber currently remains under Republican majority, making the short-term outcome uncertain.

Donald Trump publicly defended his Secretary of Defense from the White House. “I support him… He won two wars. He was in charge,” the president said, referring to conflicts in Venezuela and Iran. Hegseth himself sought to downplay the pressure on him: “My team and I don’t care about the noise,” he told reporters. He announced a press conference for Tuesday, the first in over one hundred eighty days.

On the Democratic side, the House leader, Hakeem Jeffries, explicitly supported the move as early as Sunday. “I vote yes without hesitation on the Hegseth resolution. Pete Hegseth must go,” he said on ABC. Some Republicans have not ruled out joining the movement: Arkansas representative French Hill indicated he wants to follow the debate before deciding.

This parliamentary offensive takes place in a tense political climate, after Democrats won both chambers of Congress in last week’s midterm elections, driven notably by dissatisfaction with the war against Iran and the surge in fuel prices. Republicans nevertheless retain control of both chambers until January 3.

Constitutionally, impeachment requires only a simple majority in the House and amounts to a formal commitment to prosecution. Actual removal would require a trial in the Senate and a conviction by two-thirds of the senators present, a threshold that would require substantial Republican support, even with the expanded majority Democrats will obtain in January.