Hegseth impeachment: Massie refiles the eight articles and forces the House to vote – what they contain

Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie on Monday, November 9, took the step he had announced: he announced that he is forcing the House of Representatives to vote on impeaching War Secretary Pete Hegseth. The resolution contains eight articles charging “high crimes and misdemeanors” and comes a week after Republicans lost the midterm elections.

“Because he has been waging hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorisation, Secretary Hegseth is violating the law and must be held accountable,” Mr Massie said. He added that his move is a “much milder version” of what is coming when Democrats take control of the House and Senate in the new year, and urged Mr Trump to replace Mr Hegseth while a successor can still be confirmed by the Senate.

The eight articles

The first three concern the war with Iran and the War Powers Act of 1973. The first accuses Mr Hegseth of waging war without a declaration of war, without legislative authorisation and without any prior attack on the US or imminent threat. The second says he continued operations although both chambers of Congress called for the withdrawal of US forces with resolution H. Con. Res. 86. The third says he exceeded the 60-day deadline and the possible 30-day withdrawal period the law provides.

The fourth accuses the secretary of ignoring laws limiting civilian casualties. The fifth targets strikes on vessels suspected of drug trafficking, which according to the text cost at least 243 lives, and cites repeated strikes on survivors and failure to rescue shipwrecked people. The sixth accuses him of retaliation against Senator Mark Kelly over his statements about unlawful orders. The seventh concerns Operation ABSOLUTE RESOLVE to capture Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores in Venezuela in January. The eighth concerns Operation ROUGH RIDER in Yemen. The full text has been published as a PDF.

When a vote could happen

Mr Massie had filed the first version on September 15 as a privileged resolution, which obliges the House to consider it within two legislative days. The vote did not happen then, as Speaker Mike Johnson sent members home early for the pre-election recess. With the new filing the clock starts again, in a session that runs until the change of majority on January 3, 2027. PBS notes it is unclear whether Mr Johnson will be able to stall the process again, unless he adjourns the House once more.

Mr Massie had made clear he would stop only if Mr Hegseth resigned, as we reported earlier. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Sunday he will vote in favour. Mr Trump defended his secretary in remarks to reporters that evening: “He’s guilty of two things, essentially that he won two wars.” Mr Hegseth himself, in a video on X last week, had called the articles “a pretext” from a “disgruntled, defeated congressman.” Mr Massie lost his party primary this year to a Trump-backed candidate.

The same day Mr Hegseth was in Newport, Rhode Island, where he addressed students and faculty at the US Naval War College. If the House approves the impeachment, he would be the third cabinet secretary in American history, after William Belknap in 1876 and Alejandro Mayorkas in 2024.