Eight Hegseth impeachment articles were filed on Tuesday by Rep. Thomas Massie (R–Ky.), with the Kentucky Republican submitting H.Res.1177 in the 119th Congress and triggering a potential forced floor vote that could compel every House member to go on the record about the Defence Secretary’s conduct.
The resolution has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Passage remains unlikely in the Republican-controlled House, but House rules permit members to bring impeachment resolutions directly to the floor at any time, bypassing committee consideration.
Massie said in a statement accompanying the official press release that Hegseth had been ‘abusing the power of his office to ignore congressional war powers resolutions, to kidnap foreign leaders, and to intimidate critics of the Trump administration by retaliating against them for exercising free speech.’
What the Hegseth Impeachment Articles Allege
The first three articles concern the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which gives a president 60 days to obtain congressional authorisation for an ongoing conflict. The articles of impeachment allege that Hegseth launched the war against Iran without evidence of an imminent threat, continued operations after Congress passed a resolution ordering the conflict to end, and ignored the withdrawal deadlines Congress subsequently set. Hegseth has ‘treated mandatory statutory deadlines as discretionary,’ the articles state.
Articles IV and V address civilian casualties. Article IV centres on the 28 February strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School, in which Pentagon officials proceeded despite warnings about outdated intelligence. The resolution charges that Hegseth ‘willfully and systemically refused to comply with laws and directives mandated for the protection of civilians,’ and that his conduct ‘foreseeably effected the death and injury of over 200 civilians.’
Article V turns to the Caribbean, where the resolution charges Hegseth with replacing maritime law enforcement with unauthorised lethal military targeting of suspected drug traffickers. The official resolution specifies at least 221 deaths resulting from those strikes, carried out without charges or convictions, and which the articles state have not slowed the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.
The resolution further documents Hegseth’s own words. On 30 September 2025, addressing what it describes as the largest assembled gathering of US generals and admirals in American history, Hegseth boasted that the US military ‘don’t fight with stupid rules of engagement.’ On 5 September 2025, upon unlawfully renaming the Department of Defense the Department of War, he proclaimed: ‘Maximum lethality, not tepid legality. Violent effect, not…’ The articles also note that on 29 May 2025 Hegseth submitted a legislative proposal to repeal section 184 of title 10 of the United States Code, the statutory requirement for civilian protection systems at the Defence Department, even after Congress had fully funded those systems for FY 2025 and FY 2026 and declined to enact the repeal.
Kelly Ruling, Venezuela, and Yemen
Article VI concerns Sen. Mark Kelly (D–Ariz.), a retired Navy captain and former astronaut who filed suit on 12 January 2026 in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, naming Hegseth, the Department of Defense, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, and the Department of the Navy as defendants. The background: Hegseth issued a censure letter on 5 January asserting that Kelly had ‘clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline’ after the senator reminded service members of their obligation to refuse illegal orders. Senior US District Judge Richard Leon subsequently ruled against Hegseth, writing that ‘Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees,’ and adding a quotation from Bob Dylan: ‘You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.’ The ruling was reported by Reuters, which also noted Hegseth said it would be ‘immediately appealed.’ Coverage of the underlying First Amendment case is carried by the First Amendment Encyclopedia, and a further account of Judge Leon’s ruling appears via CBS News.
Article VII charges Hegseth with directing Operation ABSOLUTE RESOLVE to seize both Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores in Venezuela without constitutional or legal authority. Article VIII charges Hegseth with initiating Operation ROUGH RIDER, the ongoing campaign of strikes in Yemen, without congressional authorisation or evidence of an imminent threat to the United States, and with violating war powers reporting requirements throughout.
Massie kept the resolution secret from Republican leaders before filing, telling CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that he had ‘not heard’ back from House Speaker Mike Johnson and that the Speaker had ’48 hours’ to call a vote, according to The Hill. Johnson has given no public indication he intends to schedule a vote.
Subject to any further procedural manoeuvre by Republican leadership, Massie retains the right to call the resolution to the floor and force a recorded vote. Whether colleagues back him or bury the measure, each member’s position on Hegseth’s conduct will become part of the congressional record before the 48-hour clock he has set runs out.
