Rep. Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican known for his libertarian-leaning constitutionalism, commandeered the House floor for more than an hour Tuesday to force a vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing him of conducting an unlawful war in Iran and committing a series of abuses that the congressman says warrant removal from office.
According to ABC News, Massie stood on the floor for roughly 67 minutes reading aloud his 34-page resolution, which contains eight articles of impeachment. The measure charges Hegseth with ignoring laws designed to minimize civilian casualties, waging an "unlawful war" in Yemen, ordering extrajudicial killings, suppressing free speech, and kidnapping a sovereign leader—an apparent reference to the U.S. capture of Nicolas Maduro earlier this year.
"Secretary Hegseth has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as Secretary of Defense and subversive of constitutional government," Massie read from the resolution, arguing that Hegseth "will remain a threat to civilians and the laws of war, the integrity of United States diplomacy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office."
The Pentagon pushed back swiftly. Press secretary Kingsley Wilson told ABC News that Hegseth "has been a transformative leader for the Department of War" and insisted the "entire Department is unified behind the Secretary's vision."
Massie, who lost a primary earlier this summer after President Donald Trump endorsed his opponent, said he kept his plan secret out of fear that Speaker Mike Johnson would short-circuit the legislative calendar. "I shared the idea with nobody," he said, adding that he wanted to place "a marker in history" on what he characterized as illegal conduct by both Trump and Hegseth.
The timing is deliberate. Under House rules, a privileged resolution forces action within two legislative days, meaning Republicans must vote by Thursday—just before the chamber recesses ahead of the midterm elections. With the GOP's narrow majority, Johnson can afford to lose only two Republican defections. Leadership could still move to table the resolution or cancel Thursday's session altogether.
Massie said he chose Tuesday because it represented his final opportunity. "Speaker Johnson has basically canceled the rest of Congress until the elections," he told ABC News. "Two days from now is the end of our session before we go on recess, and there can be a vote within two days. So I had to do it today."
Why this matters
Impeachment of a cabinet secretary is extraordinarily rare—the House has impeached only one Cabinet member in American history, Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876, and he resigned before trial. Massie's move effectively forces every Republican to go on record defending Hegseth's conduct just weeks before voters head to the polls, turning a procedural maneuver into a politically charged loyalty test. Even if the resolution fails in the GOP-controlled House, it injects the Iran war and the administration's military posture directly into midterm campaign messaging.
Whether the effort succeeds or collapses, Massie has ensured the debate over presidential war powers—and Hegseth's role in expanding them—will follow Republicans into the election season.
