Eight Articles: Massie Moves to Impeach Hegseth

The House of Representatives returned to Washington on Monday for the first session following the midterm elections. On that day, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky introduced eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Massie framed the resolution as a legal check rather than a performance review. He argued that Hegseth broke laws and violated the Constitution during the war with Iran, citing specific military actions in that conflict and in Venezuela and Yemen. "We're not indicting him for being bad at his job," Massie said at a press conference outside the Capitol. "The argument here is that he's broken laws and he's violated the Constitution."

The move follows a previous attempt by Massie in September to impeach Hegseth. At that time, House Speaker Mike Johnson sent lawmakers home early to avoid holding a vote. Massie is now urging Johnson to bring the new resolution to the floor, noting that Republicans still hold the majority. "They can still do the right thing," Massie stated.

Democrats in the House have signaled strong support for the measure. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries described his stance as a "hard yes." Jeffries accused Hegseth of abusing power and being the architect of a costly and failed war of choice in Iran.

President Donald Trump reacted to the news during an impromptu briefing at the White House on Monday. He pledged his support for Hegseth and criticized the effort as a waste of time. "Massie is a loser," Trump told reporters. "He shouldn't be taking up the time of Congress or the Senate or anything that he's doing. The guy's a stone-cold loser."

Massie, who has been a vocal critic of the administration, was defeated in a primary challenge in May by Ed Gallrein, who had the president's endorsement. Hegseth is scheduled to address the news Tuesday morning at the Pentagon. That briefing will be his first in more than 180 days.