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Last Updated on October 30, 2026.

A guide to the case for impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a sweeping record of alleged violations of constitutional and international law — and the congressional path to his removal.

Rep. Thomas Massie’s articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will be one of the first post-election votes taken by the House of Representatives. Progressives should rally to support the articles and urge their adoption by the House. A successful vote on the articles could hasten Hegseth’s departure as Trump scrambles to pick up the pieces from the midterms. Even if Hegseth hangs on, progressive mobilization for his ouster, and a clear signal from all House Democrats that they’re willing to force his removal from office, can spur the next Congress to undertake a more robust and vitally necessary impeachment effort. 

Legislative State of Play

Just before the October recess, outgoing Republican Representative Thomas Massie introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth. Bringing the resolution up as a question of the privileges of the House, Massie unlocked a short-turnaround process that guaranteed the articles would receive a vote. In a panicked response, Speaker Mike Johnson ended the House’s pre-election business days earlier than planned to avoid a difficult vote for his conference. Massie has vowed to force a vote on the articles upon Congress’ return from the midterms, and Johnson won’t be able to dodge the vote forever. Currently, we expect a vote on Massie’s resolution the week of November 9. 

Massie’s articles focus on Hegseth’s role in: 

• Violating Congress’ war powers by prosecuting unauthorized wars in Iran, Venezuela, and Yemen; 
• Gutting the Pentagon’s civilian protection programs and resulting harm; 
• Directing extrajudicial killings in Latin America; and 
• Suppressing free speech through a politicized reprisal against Sen. Mark Kelly. 

Hegseth’s impeachment must be a key priority. Outside of these charges, we know that he is also pursuing a broader effort to remake the Pentagon along white supremacist and authoritarian lines, including by purging black and women senior officers, discharging transgender servicemembers, deploying servicemembers to major U.S. cities, and attempting the first publicly broadcast execution in United States history. He’s pressing for $1.5 trillion in funding — an astronomical sum coming at the expense of vital programs for our collective health and safety — to fulfill his vision of a Pentagon that fights illegal wars abroad while flooding our cities with soldiers.

A successful vote on Massie’s lightning impeachment attempt, combined with bad election results for Republicans driven by opposition to the Iran war, may be enough for Trump to fire him, if not substantially diminish his role and influence. If the vote fails, the next Congress must undertake a meticulous and detailed impeachment process that checks the remainder of his malevolent tenure while building a winning case for a Senate trial securing his removal. 

Key Asks

As Congress returns from its elections recess, civil society should drive petition and call actions to lawmakers, release public statements, post and amplify social media messages, and reach out directly to House offices urging members to vote “yes” on Massie’s impeachment articles. 

Advocates can also reach out to leadership offices and urge them to take up Hegseth’s impeachment as a key priority for the 120th Congress — for which there’s building momentum among House Democrats. 

Background and Key Arguments for Rep. Massie’s Articles

Hegseth’s propensity for violence, disdain for the law and barely concealed white nationalism, coupled with his direct control over the armed forces and the massive Pentagon bureaucracy, make him a particular danger. Massie’s articles don’t get at the full scope of Hegseth’s misdeeds or reasons why civil society and activists alike should be pushing for his ouster. They focus on his outsized role in waging illegal wars and harming civilians, which are damning indictments of Hegseth’s conduct. Uplifting these points will be vital to building a majority for his ouster. Key arguments bolstering these specific articles include:

Launching an unauthorized war is one of the gravest constitutional violations conceivable. Articles I-III and VII-VIII of Massie’s resolution assert that Hegseth violated the “Declare War” clause of the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973, and therefore his oath of office, by launching unauthorized wars against the governments of Iran and Venezuela and the Houthis in Yemen. 

The decision to go to war inevitably puts servicemembers in harm’s way, endangers civilians at home and abroad, and profoundly impacts people’s lives and livelihoods. The drafters of the Constitution understood the gravity and specifically sought to prevent a tyrant leader from launching a war against the people’s will by empowering Congress — and not any one executive — to make the decision to go to war. In launching a series of illegal wars in less than two years, Hegseth, acting on Trump’s behalf, has trampled this bedrock democratic principle.

Hegseth didn’t just follow Trump’s orders to launch illegal wars — he eagerly championed them. Hegseth aggressively pushed for the administration to launch its unlawful campaigns before their start. The New York Times reported that “Within the cabinet, Mr. Hegseth was the biggest proponent of a military campaign against Iran,” an eagerness also apparent in cabinet-level deliberations over operations in Yemen and the mounting campaign in Latin America. He also, on multiple occasions, pushed out senior officers who questioned the lawfulness or wisdom of these operations. 

Hegseth ignored a directive from Congress to end it. Article II specifically notes that Hegseth continued military operations against Iran “despite Congress’ formal action directing the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities.” In June, both houses of Congress passed H.Con.Res.86, ordering the president, pursuant to the War Powers Resolution of 1973, to end all hostilities against Iran. It was the first time Congress had ever exercised its authority under the WPR to directly order the president to terminate an unauthorized war. Trump and Hegseth ignored this order. Throughout the conflict, Hegseth has denied that Congress has any role in authorizing the administration’s war on Iran. 

Hegseth is a murderer, and the boat strikes he’s directed in Latin America are a “high crime” that impeachment exists to address. As Massie’s fifth impeachment article sets out, Hegseth has ordered the deaths of over 200 people across dozens operations for mere suspicion of criminal activity, in fundamental violation of both their rights to life and to due process. Hegseth even allegedly gave an order that there be no survivors before the first of these operations, which led to a double-tap strike on September 2, 2025 targeting two men shipwrecked and struggling to stay afloat following an initial U.S. strike. 

Strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific have been so lawless that the administration refuses to bring the few survivors of these attacks to the United States to charge them for their purported crimes (actions which, even if they were found guilty, would not be subject to capital punishment under U.S. law), and has stonewalled attempts to have the Department of Justice release its legal rationale for the operations. Impeachment is an immediate and necessary remedy to remove such a lawless individual from government office, and it should be supplemented by further legal action to address allegations of related criminal activity under U.S. and international law. 

Hegseth’s rhetoric and actions have made mass civilian casualties all-but inevitable. Impeachment article IV asserts that Hegseth “effected the systemic deterioration and removal” of congressionally mandated programs to minimize civilian harm. Article VIII, addressing the Trump administration’s unlawful operations in Yemen, notes the related high rates of resulting civilian deaths. Hegseth pursued a “scheme or course of conduct” to degrade civilian protection measures by shuttering the Department’s center for civilian protection and its related work, firing the military’s top judge advocate generals, and defunding efforts to track and understand civilian casualties. He simultaneously/subsequently ignored the unanimous wishes of the Department’s combatant commands to preserve civilian protection initiatives. 

Throughout his tenure, he has denigrated the laws of war that the U.S. military is bound to uphold, publicly stating, among other things, there would be “no stupid rules of engagement” and “no politically correct wars.” In this climate, devastating attacks on civilians, like the one targeting the girls’ school in Minab, Iran on February 28, 2026 — which a UN fact-finding mission “found reasonable grounds to believe” was a war crime — become all too predictable, even as they remain outrageous. 

Talking Points

• Launching illegal wars is a fireable offense. Support Massie’s articles of impeachment against Hegseth — get him out of office. 
• Under Hegseth’s command, U.S. forces have murdered over 200 people for mere suspicion of criminal activity. Removal from office is the floor, not the ceiling for his accountability.
• Attacks on international law and cutbacks at the Pentagon’s civilian harm mitigation and response programs contributed to the deaths of over 100 children in Minab, Iran. Congress must remove him from office. 
• Hegseth has helped launch illegal wars, sent troops to our streets, and just tried to livestream an execution. Congress has the power to remove Hegseth from office. Members must use it.
• Carelessness and incompetence reign at the Pentagon and it makes us all less safe. Hegseth has not only put civilians in the crosshairs, his warmongering has killed 20 servicemembers and injured thousands of innocent people in the Middle East. He must go.
• Hegseth’s loyalty isn’t to the Constitution, but to Trump and his own personal vanity. He’s violated his oath of office and Congress must impeach him.

October 30, 2026