On Monday, November 9, Republican Representative Thomas Massie reintroduced a resolution in the House of Representatives containing eight articles of impeachment against U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. According to the initiator, the document records systemic violations of constitutional norms by the Pentagon chief, particularly his participation in military operations without proper authorization from the American parliament.
Eight Articles of Impeachment
According to the text of the resolution, Hegseth is accused of abuse of power and failure to respect Congress's constitutional powers to declare war. Three of the eight articles directly concern the U.S. military campaign against Iran: Massie claims that the Defense Secretary participated in hostilities without due authorization from the legislative branch.
In addition to the Iran direction, the document mentions strikes against ships suspected of drug trafficking, as well as military operations in Yemen and Venezuela. A separate article highlights pressure placed on Senator Mark Kelly after he urged service members not to follow illegal orders. According to Massie, the combination of these actions poses a threat to the U.S. Constitution and contradicts the duties of the head of the defense department.
Pentagon and White House Reaction
Pete Hegseth himself reacted calmly to the initiative. Responding to journalists in Rhode Island when asked whether there is sufficient support among Republicans to block the procedure, he stated: "We are not worried about impeachment. Tomorrow morning, we will hold a press conference on this topic." The Pentagon chief called his opponents' actions politically motivated and stated that critics disagree with the achievements of the U.S. defense department, adding that he is ready to discuss the military operations of Donald Trump's administration and defend the Pentagon's decisions.
Public support for Hegseth was previously expressed by U.S. President Donald Trump, who announced his intention to keep the minister in office and stated there are no grounds for impeachment, noting that, in his words, Hegseth helped win two wars. On the opposite side was House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who supported Massie's initiative and stated he would vote for impeachment.
Parliamentary Procedure and Prospects
The House of Representatives is expected to consider the resolution within two legislative days of its reintroduction. A simple majority of votes is sufficient to pass the document at this stage. If the resolution clears this threshold, the matter will move to the Senate, where a two-thirds vote of senators is required to remove the minister from office. Thus, despite the resonance of the initiative, its practical outcome will depend on Republican intra-party discipline and the willingness of Democrats to unite their efforts in the upper chamber.
