Massie renews push to impeach Hegseth as Republicans blame Iran war for midterm defeat

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky said he intends to bring articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, reviving an effort that gained new force after Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections, Al-Monitor and Fox News reported.

Massie, who is leaving Congress, said on X late Wednesday that the only circumstance in which he would hold back is a resignation. “There is one contingency in which I won’t reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns,” he wrote, according to Al-Monitor, which said he had also confirmed the plan to CNN. He describes the administration’s conduct of the war against Iran as illegal.

How a vote could unfold

Fox News reported that Massie plans to file a privileged resolution once Congress returns next week. The device is designed to force a floor vote even when the majority leadership objects, and once it is filed the House has two legislative days to act.

The process has a catch, according to Fox. Before lawmakers vote on the measure itself, party leaders can call a vote to table it or send it to a committee, either of which would effectively end it. That is the stage at which most privileged resolutions fail.

Yet several House Republicans told Fox News they believe this one could succeed. “If he introduces it, it’ll pass,” one said, and two others voiced the same expectation. One lawmaker pointed to attendance as a possible deciding factor: Republicans who lost their seats may simply skip the last two months of the year, and with a razor-thin majority only a few absences would be needed if Democrats vote together.

Doubts inside the party

Not everyone is convinced. Al-Monitor noted that no House Republican besides Massie has publicly backed impeachment, although some have started to cite the Iran war as a major reason for the party’s losses. Fox said most House Republicans will still oppose the move. “I really doubt” it will pass, one told the network, adding that it depends on whether anyone wants to defy the president on the way out.

President Donald Trump told reporters he thinks Hegseth is doing “a good job,” Fox reported. But a former White House official said Hegseth “is on the chopping block,” and a current official predicted Trump would hold him accountable during the lame-duck period. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell dismissed talk that Trump might remove him, saying Hegseth would not be deterred by politicians seeking partisan points.

White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis, responding to the broader Democratic agenda, called planned investigations “sham” efforts, according to Fox.

Democrats have signalled appetite for action. Hakeem Jeffries, poised to become speaker, asked on X why Hegseth is “still around.” Rep. Adam Smith, expected to lead the House Armed Services Committee next year, told CNN last month that Hegseth is unqualified and should be removed.

What happens next

Even if the House impeached Hegseth, Fox noted, he would stay in office until a trial in the Senate. Much remains open: whether Hegseth resigns first, whether Trump acts on his own, and whether enough Republicans back the resolution or are absent when it comes up. Fox said projections pointed to the Iran war and tariff policy as key drivers of voters’ rejection of the GOP.