Thomas Massie Moves to Impeach Pete Hegseth, Joining Democrats’ Escalating Campaign Against Trump’s Pentagon

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky introduced articles of impeachment Tuesday against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing one of President Donald Trump’s most prominent Cabinet officials of committing “high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Massie’s move comes only days after congressional Democrats reportedly began preparing their own campaign against Hegseth should they regain control of the House in November’s midterm elections.

Taking the House floor, Massie formally announced his resolution.

“Mr. Speaker … I seek recognition to give notice of my intent to raise a question of the privileges of the House. The form of the resolution is as follows,” Massie began.

“Impeaching Peter Brian Hegseth, Secretary of Defense, for high crimes and misdemeanors,” he continued. “Resolved, that Peter Brian Hegseth, Secretary of Defense, also referred to as Secretary of War by the administration, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate.”

Massie subsequently published the full 34-page resolution online. It presents a sweeping list of allegations involving military action, executive authority, civilian protections and constitutional limits on the use of force.

Among its accusations are claims that Hegseth violated Section 2(c) of the War Powers Resolution of 1973, disregarded laws intended to limit civilian casualties, participated in extrajudicial killings, suppressed protected speech, assisted in the seizure of a foreign leader and oversaw an unlawful war in Yemen.

“In his conduct while Secretary of Defense, Peter Brian Hegseth, in violation of his oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed — especially with regard to the commission of war — has abused the powers of the Department of Defense,” the document read.

The resolution further alleges that Hegseth “knowingly” carried out unlawful directives, helped prosecute a war against Iran without congressional authorization and defied the War Powers Act.

Massie also charged that Hegseth “acted in a manner contrary to his trust as Secretary of Defense and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.”

According to Massie, allowing Hegseth to remain in office would make him a “threat to the Constitution.” The Kentucky congressman argued that the secretary has “acted in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law.”

The resolution also targets the operation that apprehended former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. It characterizes the mission as an “unprecedented military operation” and “an act of war against a sovereign country executed under the guise of narcotics law enforcement, though in actuality intended to assert U.S. control over Venezuela’s oil reserves.”

Massie additionally alleges that Hegseth participated in extrajudicial killings “of at least 221 persons aboard seagoing vessels alleged to be smuggling narcotics in the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific Ocean, principally in international waters.”

That allegation concerns the Trump administration’s drone strikes against suspected drug traffickers, part of the president’s broader effort to confront transnational narcotics networks threatening the United States.

On free-speech grounds, Massie contends that Hegseth engaged in retaliation and intimidation by investigating remarks from Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona concerning whether members of the military should refuse unlawful orders.

The impeachment push arrives as Democrats openly promise aggressive investigations into Hegseth and the Pentagon if voters hand them control of the House.

Their proposed inquiries would reportedly examine Hegseth’s role in the Iran war, military contracts, strikes on suspected Latin American drug-smuggling vessels and the removal of senior military officers.

Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan of New York made clear that restraint would not be part of the party’s approach.

“Hegseth and crew better buckle up and lawyer up because we are coming at them full on,” Ryan said. “It’s incredibly aggressive oversight because this is by far the most corrupt and least transparent Pentagon, I think, we’ve ever had.”

Hegseth emerged as a forceful defender of Trump during his tenure at Fox News and has remained one of the president’s closest and most outspoken deputies throughout Trump’s second term.

Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado similarly promised to deploy every available congressional mechanism against the administration.

“It’s hearings, it’s briefings, it’s informal meetings, it’s requests for information, it’s everything,” Crow declared. “We will use all of the tools we can to make sure we’re getting the information we need to hold folks accountable.”

Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, who would likely chair the House Armed Services Committee if Democrats win the majority, indicated that any investigation could extend beyond Hegseth to other senior Pentagon officials.

Massie’s resolution now places a Republican lawmaker alongside Democrats seeking to remove a leading member of Trump’s national-security team. The effort also raises a fundamental constitutional dispute over presidential war powers, congressional authorization and America’s response to hostile regimes and international drug-trafficking operations.