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The U.S. House of Representatives has put an impeachment effort against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on hold for now. In a vote on Tuesday, 211 members voted to refer eight articles of impeachment to the House Judiciary Committee instead of bringing them before the full House for debate, while 204 voted against the referral. Democrats are preparing to revive the effort after taking control of the House in January, AnewZ reports.
The initiative, introduced by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, accuses Hegseth of “high crimes and misdemeanors” related to the war with Iran and several other military operations.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the matter was not over: “This is not the end. This is just the beginning.” Democrats are expected to take control of both chambers of Congress in January.
How the impeachment effort unfolded
Massie introduced his 34-page resolution in the House on Monday, the first working day after the midterm elections. According to PBS NewsHour, he alleged that Hegseth had “knowingly executed and carried out illegal orders” and said the secretary “remains a danger to the Constitution.”
The move followed an earlier effort Massie launched in September. NBC reported that he then introduced the resolution as a “privileged” measure, a procedure that requires the House to act within two legislative days.
Republican leaders later canceled votes and left Washington early, leaving consideration of the matter until after the election. They denied that the decision was related to the timing of a vote. House Speaker Mike Johnson called the effort “a PR stunt by somebody who wants attention.”
After lawmakers returned, they voted to refer the articles to the Judiciary Committee. According to CBS News, Massie was the only Republican to vote against the referral. Seven Republicans and 11 Democrats did not vote.
ABC News reported that several of the absent Democrats cited traffic around the Capitol. Had all of them voted against the referral, it would have failed by a vote of 215-211.
“I’m not surprised, but I am disappointed,” Massie said.
How does the impeachment process work?
The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to remove federal officials, including Cabinet members, through impeachment. The House has the sole power to impeach, while the Senate has the sole power to try impeachments. These powers apply to the president, vice president and “all civil officers of the United States,” including Cabinet members.
The process has two main stages. First, the House votes on the charges; a simple majority is enough to impeach. Impeachment is similar to an indictment, but it does not in itself mean that the person has been found guilty.
In the second stage, the Senate considers the charges and may hold a trial or dismiss the case. Under the Constitution, “no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.” A conviction results in removal from office. The Senate may also bar the person from holding federal office in the future.
The two-thirds threshold makes removal difficult; reaching it typically requires substantial support from both parties.
Eight charges against Hegseth
Massie’s resolution contains eight allegations concerning military operations, congressional powers and Hegseth’s treatment of a U.S. senator. The charges, as listed by CBS News, are:
- Starting a war against Iran without congressional authorization: Hegseth is accused of carrying out orders to launch military operations without a declaration of war or congressional approval. The resolution says this violated the 1973 War Powers Resolution.
- Defying a congressional resolution on the Iran conflict: The resolution alleges that Hegseth continued military operations despite a measure adopted by both chambers in June calling for the fighting to stop. The administration has said the military operations had already ended.
- Violating the War Powers Resolution deadline: Trump notified Congress of the military operation on March 2, starting a 60-day period that ended on May 1. Hegseth told senators that a ceasefire would pause the clock, but the article of impeachment alleges that fighting continued after June 1.
- Weakening protections for civilians: Hegseth is accused of reducing the number of staff working to protect civilians and dismissing senior military lawyers. The resolution links those decisions to a February Tomahawk missile strike on an Iranian school. Iranian media reported that about 170 civilians, most of them children, were killed. The United States has not directly accepted responsibility for the incident.
- Carrying out “extrajudicial killings” at sea: The resolution alleges that Hegseth directed strikes against vessels suspected of drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific, killing at least 243 people since September 2025.
- Retaliating against Sen. Mark Kelly: Hegseth is accused of targeting Kelly over a video reminding service members of their right to refuse unlawful orders. A federal judge blocked a threat to reduce Kelly’s military rank.
- Ordering the capture of Nicolás Maduro: The resolution describes the January raid that resulted in Maduro’s capture as an unauthorized act of war. At least 83 people were reported killed during the operation.
- Authorizing strikes in Yemen without congressional approval: Hegseth is accused of directing more than 1,100 strikes against Houthi positions from March to May 2025 without congressional authorization.
Legal basis of the charges is disputed
There is disagreement over whether the allegations meet the Constitution’s standard of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” According to Fox News, Hegseth rejected the charges, saying they were “policy disagreements, not high crimes and misdemeanors.” “I stand behind each and every one of these operations,” he said.
Vice President J.D. Vance also rejected the accusations, calling the idea that Hegseth had committed impeachable offenses “absurd.”
Constitutional law expert Jonathan Turley questioned the legal basis for most of the charges. Speaking to Fox News, Turley said “six of the eight articles, including those related to Iran, should not even be considered.”
He said Massie was trying to use impeachment to resolve a long-running dispute over the president’s war powers. Turley noted that former presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden also argued that they had broad powers to launch military operations.
Turley said, however, that the strikes at sea and Hegseth’s treatment of Kelly could raise more serious legal questions. Referring to an allegation that a vessel already struck was hit a second time, he said that if it were confirmed that such a “double-tap” order had been given, it “would be a war crime,” while stressing that he would need to examine the evidence. Trump and Hegseth have denied that such an order was given.
Supporters of impeachment argue that an official does not need to be convicted of a crime for the constitutional standard to be met. In their view, knowingly violating the law or abusing public office can be grounds for removal. Massie has alleged that Hegseth committed impeachable acts “eight times.”
Cabinet members who have been impeached
Only two Cabinet members in U.S. history have been impeached, and neither was convicted by the Senate.
The first was William Belknap, secretary of war under President Ulysses S. Grant. The House impeached him unanimously in 1876. Historical records of the U.S. Senate say Belknap was accused of “criminally disregarding his duties as Secretary of War and basely prostituting his high office to his lust for private gain.”
According to TIME, the case involved allegations that Belknap received $24,450 in illegal payments connected to an Army trading post at Fort Sill. Belknap resigned hours before the House vote, but the Senate proceeded with a trial.
According to an analysis by Thomas Berry of the Cato Institute, senators voted 37-29 to affirm their power to try a former official. A majority of senators supported conviction on all five articles, but none secured the required two-thirds majority, and Belknap was acquitted.
Nearly 150 years later, in 2024, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas became the second Cabinet member to be impeached. The Republican-controlled House accused him of violating the law in his handling of the U.S. border. The Democratic-controlled Senate dismissed both articles as unconstitutional without holding a full trial.
What could happen next?
For now, advancing the impeachment effort appears politically impossible. Referring the articles to the Judiciary Committee makes further action difficult before the term of the Republican-controlled House ends.
Democrats taking control of the House in January could change the situation: they would gain the authority to bring new articles of impeachment to a vote. Even if enough votes were secured to impeach Hegseth, removing him from office would require a two-thirds majority in the Senate.
No Cabinet secretary in U.S. history has been convicted by the Senate after impeachment. Hegseth’s removal from office would therefore face significant constitutional and political obstacles.
