Could Pete Hegseth Be Impeached Next? Democrats Take Congress With Six Impeachment Articles Already Filed

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth could be the first Trump official in the crosshairs of the new Democratic Congress, with six articles of impeachment against him already filed.

The resolution, filed in April 2026, accuses the Pentagon chief of launching an unauthorised war against Iran and obstructing Congress.

Hakeem Jeffries says Democrats will 'run Pete Hegseth out of town' once they take the majority. Convicting and removing him would still require two-thirds of senators present.

Six Articles Already Filed

Representative Yassamin Ansari of Arizona filed the seven-page resolution on 15 April with 12 Democratic co-sponsors, among them Sarah McBride, Lauren Underwood, Al Green, Jasmine Crockett and Brittany Pettersen, CBS News reported.

It accuses Hegseth of 'high crimes and misdemeanours' and says he has 'demonstrated a willful disregard for the Constitution.'

The six articles, referred to the House Judiciary Committee, allege that Hegseth launched an unauthorised war against Iran and recklessly endangered service members; violated the law of armed conflict and targeted civilians; mishandled sensitive military information; obstructed congressional oversight; abused his power and politicised the armed forces; and brought disrepute upon the US and its military.

At the time, CBS noted that the effort almost certainly would not advance under a narrow Republican House majority, but that sponsors could renew it if Democrats won the chamber. On Tuesday, 3 November, they did, along with the Senate, Reuters reported.

A Girls' School, A Signal Chat And Iran

The resolution cites the bombing of a girls' school in Iran on 28 February, the first day of the US-Israeli war, which killed 168 people.

A preliminary US assessment said the US was 'likely' responsible but did not intentionally target the school and may have hit it in error, CBS reported.

It also points to Hegseth's vow of 'no quarter, no mercy for our enemies', which the resolution cites under the Geneva Conventions, and to his sharing of details of US military operations in Yemen in a private Signal group chat.

Further articles accuse him of withholding information about operations in Venezuela and Iran from Congress and undermining US commitments to NATO. 'Hegseth is complicit,' Ansari said, adding that she had called for the 25th Amendment to be invoked.

Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson dismissed the resolution as 'just another Democrat trying to make headlines' and 'just another charade in an attempt to distract the American people.' Hegseth, she said, 'will continue to protect the homeland and project peace through strength.'

Jeffries Vows To 'Run Him Out Of Town'

Democratic leaders have been blunter about Hegseth than about Trump. Jeffries said Democrats would 'run Pete Hegseth out of town' as one of their first actions in the majority, Fox News reported.

Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee and its likely next chair, told TIME in an interview a week before the election, published on 2 November, that he was inclined to back proceedings against Hegseth.

He argued that some Republicans who would never vote to impeach Trump might support impeaching his defence secretary. Other senior Democrats, including Jamie Raskin, Adam Schiff and Jason Crow, have been more cautious about impeachment, TIME reported.

Smith has pledged tougher oversight of the Pentagon, including the firing of senior military leaders, the Iran war and boat strikes, ABC News reported.

The war in Iran was central to the Democratic campaign. Democrats ran on corruption and affordability, citing tariffs and the war, Reuters reported, and ending the conflict is among Jeffries' stated priorities.

Pressure is also coming from the right. Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky plans to force a vote on his own, separate resolution during the lame-duck session, Fox News reported. His September resolution contained eight articles, and he has said he will reintroduce them when Congress returns, 'if he's still SecDef.'

Massie accuses Hegseth of violating the War Powers Resolution and acting unlawfully in Venezuela, Yemen and against suspected drug traffickers.

Only Two Cabinet Secretaries Have Been Impeached

If the House votes to impeach Hegseth, he would join a short list. Only two Cabinet officials have been impeached: Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876, who was acquitted, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in 2024, whose charges the then Democratic-controlled Senate dismissed shortly after the trial began, according to CBS.

Trump's own two impeachments in his first term both ended in Senate acquittals, TIME noted. A House majority is enough to impeach. Removal requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate, which means Democrats would need a significant number of Republican senators to convict.

Timing matters too. Resolutions expire at the end of each Congress, so Ansari's articles would need to be reintroduced once the new Congress is seated in January, as CBS noted sponsors could do. Massie's lame-duck push could force a vote sooner, though in a chamber Republicans still control.

From January, Democrats will have the majority needed to bring impeachment articles to a vote, but whether they choose to pursue the case against Hegseth remains uncertain.