Republican Rep. Massie introduces articles of impeachment against Sec. of War Hegseth

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on the House floor today. Massie announced eight charges against Hegseth. Most of them relate to Hegseth’s conduct of the Iran war, but Massie also alleged other abuses of power by Hegseth which he considers unlawful:

Article I: Unlawfully waging war on Iran without authorization from Congress or an imminent threat.
Article II: Continuing military action against Iran beyond the statutory 60-day limit.
Article III: Ignoring a Congressional directive to withdraw troops from combat against Iran.
Article IV: Ignoring laws that minimize civilian casualties, resulting in the strike on the strike on the Minab school which killed over 100 school children on the first day of the war on Iran.
Article V: Conducting dozens of extrajudicial maritime strikes against boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, which have killed at least 221 people in total.
Article VI: Suppression of free speech by threatening to court martial Sen. Mark Kelly after Kelly urged troops not to carry out unlawful orders.
Article VII: Kidnapping of a sovereign foreign leader, referring to the the military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and brought them to the US.
Article VIII: Unlawfully waging war on Yemen with no Congressional authorization or an imminent threat.

Political fallout

Massie is one of several Republican members of Congress who will be leaving office in January. He and North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis were among several Republican Congressmen who lost their seat after Trump backed primary opponents against them. Before the midterms, both Massie and Tillis openly criticized Hegseth. Now, several of their Republican colleagues who lost (or only very narrowly won) their seats in the midterms are speaking out against Hegseth.

An impeachment vote will likely take place this week. It’s unclear how many Republicans will be willing to vote to impeach him in the House or whether any would be willing to vote to convict him in the Senate. Impeachment requires a simple majority in the House and conviction requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate. If this Congress is unsuccessful in impeaching or convicting Hegseth, Democrats have said candidly that they will impeach Hegseth when they take control of both chambers in January.

Massie says he would withdraw the articles of impeachment against Hegseth if Hegseth resigned or was fired.

Trump himself has acknowledged that voters’ anger over the war in Iran and “great dislike for Israel” contributed to the massive Republican midterm losses. Despite its unpopularity, Trump has shown no signs of backing away from the war.

Forcing Hegseth out could be seen as a capitulation by Trump to both Republican and Democrat criticisms of the war. But it could also head off what would likely be an even more contentious impeachment proceeding by Democrats next year.