Pete Hegseth Impeachment Vote Hinges on a Handful of Republicans After Thomas Massie Refiles Eight Articles

Pete Hegseth could face an impeachment vote within days after Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, refiled eight articles on Monday accusing the defense secretary of waging war on Iran without congressional approval. Republicans hold the House by 218 seats to 214. If every Democrat votes yes, three more votes, Massie's included, would carry the charges.

Massie says the vote should turn on conduct, not on support for the war. 'The question is whether he committed impeachable acts, and the answer is yes, eight times,' he wrote on X. Hegseth calls the effort political theatre, and President Donald Trump has vowed to stand by him.

The Eight Charges

Massie's 34-page resolution accuses Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanours. Three cite the 1973 War Powers Resolution over the Iran war, which began with US and Israeli strikes on 28 February. Another says he ignored laws meant to limit civilian deaths, citing a strike on an Iranian girls' school. Two cover strikes on suspected drug boats and the raid that seized Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro. The other two concern the Pentagon's treatment of Senator Mark Kelly and strikes in Yemen.

Massie first filed the articles in September, but House Republican leaders sent members home early, delaying the vote. Refiling the resolution on Monday restarted the two-legislative-day clock for scheduling a vote. The House must now act by Wednesday, though leaders have not said how they will handle it. In the post below, Massie said some colleagues will vote no because they think Hegseth has been effective and back the war.

Hegseth called the charges 'sham articles of impeachment' in a video posted on X on 5 November. He cast Massie as a defeated congressman working with Democrats. Massie lost his Kentucky primary in May to Ed Gallrein, a challenger Hegseth campaigned for. Massie leaves Congress in January. Trump went further on Monday, calling Massie 'a stone-cold loser'. The row follows midterm defeats that Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance, have linked to the Iran war.

Some Republicans now sound less certain about Hegseth. James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Oversight Committee, said there are 'a lot of questions' about him, though Comer has not backed impeachment. Arkansas Republican French Hill and Nebraska's Don Bacon, who is retiring, both say they have not yet decided how to vote. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says he will vote yes, but Republican votes may decide the outcome.

The Numbers

The House has 433 sitting members, including one independent, so impeachment needs 217 votes if all take part, three more than the 214 Democrats hold. Any absences would change that arithmetic. Republican leaders could first move to table the resolution, a vote to set it aside, which also needs a simple majority.

If the House impeaches Hegseth, the Senate would consider the charges; conviction requires a two-thirds vote of senators present. The House has impeached only two Cabinet secretaries: William Belknap in 1876, whom the Senate acquitted, and Alejandro Mayorkas in 2024, whose charges it dismissed. Impeachment alone would not remove Hegseth from office.