Kentucky Republican Moves to Impeach Defence Secretary Hegseth
Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, plans to force a House of Representatives vote this week on impeaching Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Impeachment is the House's formal process for charging a federal official with wrongdoing.
The BBC reported that Massie's impeachment resolution is expected to be introduced later on Monday. House Speaker Mike Johnson must then schedule a time to consider it within two days. Massie first introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth in September, and CNN reported that Massie told it he intends to introduce new articles on Monday.
According to the CBS News report, the resolution runs 34 pages and contains eight articles. It accuses Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanors. Massie alleges that Hegseth violated the U.S. Constitution by engaging in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization. Congress must approve such military action, and the resolution's articles name Hegseth as Peter Brian Hegseth, who the administration also refers to as Secretary of War.
Massie has also accused Hegseth of intimidating critics of the Trump administration, kidnapping foreign leaders and ignoring congressional war powers resolutions. The House has passed a War Powers resolution, a measure seeking to halt further U.S. military action in Iran, several times this year with Massie's support.
Massie has urged President Donald Trump to replace Hegseth now, while a successor can still be confirmed by the Senate. He wants Trump to act before Democrats can launch their own effort against Hegseth. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Sunday that he is a "hard yes" on impeaching Hegseth.
Hegseth has said he is not worried about the impeachment resolution. He will hold a news conference on the topic on Tuesday morning.
Massie represents Kentucky's 4th Congressional District, which stretches across Northern Kentucky and 261 miles of the Ohio River. He entered Congress in November 2012, after serving as Lewis County Judge Executive. The House has voted to impeach only two cabinet members in U.S. history.
