--- title: Republican Congressman Introduces Articles of Impeachment Against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth description: The resolution marks perhaps the most striking instance yet of a member of President Donald Trump’s own party publicly condemning one of his top Cabinet officials. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/09/15/massie-hegseth-impeachment-iran/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-09-15T21:24:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-09-18T17:08:13.891Z article:section: Politics og:title: Republican Congressman Introduces Articles of Impeachment Against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth og:description: The resolution marks perhaps the most striking instance yet of a member of President Donald Trump’s own party publicly condemning one of his top Cabinet officials. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/09/15/massie-hegseth-impeachment-iran/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6a50651e1f5ba5d/6aa9b52d4cff8b0e4d0f11c7/Massie-Hegseth-Impeachment.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Massie-Hegseth-Impeachment.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Republican Congressman Introduces Articles of Impeachment Against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth twitter:description: The resolution marks perhaps the most striking instance yet of a member of President Donald Trump’s own party publicly condemning one of his top Cabinet officials. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6a50651e1f5ba5d/6aa9b52d4cff8b0e4d0f11c7/Massie-Hegseth-Impeachment.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Republican Congressman Introduces Articles of Impeachment Against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=b93981f8-8b90-498f-9e9d-a3e9335a841c&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Senators speak out on Congress recess, Hegseth and Kennedy Center woes [Watch (HLS stream): Senators speak out on Congress recess, Hegseth and Kennedy Center woes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/je1JU8JJ.m3u8) (1:25)  _Published 2026-09-18. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has moved to force a House vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, marking perhaps the most striking instance yet of a member of President Donald Trump’s own party publicly condemning one of his top Cabinet officials._ by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Sep 15, 2026 9:24 PM UTC Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has moved to force a House vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, marking perhaps the most striking instance yet of a member of President Donald Trump’s own party publicly condemning one of his top Cabinet officials. by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Sep 15, 2026 9:24 PM UTC Republican Rep. [Thomas Massie](https://time.com/article/2026/05/19/massie-trump-kentucky-house-republican-primary-gallrein/) has moved to force a House vote on [impeaching](https://time.com/5477435/impeachment-clinton/) Defense Secretary [Pete Hegseth](https://time.com/article/2026/09/02/trump-hegseth-tillis-driscoll-resignation-pentagon/), marking perhaps the most striking instance yet of a member of President [Donald Trump’](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people/2026/donald-trump/)s own party publicly condemning one of his top Cabinet officials. The Kentucky Congressman introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth on Tuesday, including allegations that the Defense Secretary is waging the war in Iran in contravention of multiple provisions of the War Powers Resolution of 1973\. One of the articles of impeachment also alleges that Hegseth is “suppressing free speech” by using the Defense Department’s “authority to retaliate against and intimidate [Senator Mark Kelly](https://time.com/7343273/mark-kelly-video-pete-hegseth-pentagon-censure-illegal-orders/) for constitutionally protected speech,” after the lawmaker [made a video](https://time.com/7335430/trump-democrats-arrest-sedition-military-illegal-orders-video/) with other Democrats reminding members of the military and intelligence community that [they can refuse to carry out illegal orders](https://time.com/7336802/trump-military-orders-mark-kelly-democratic-lawmakers-video/). Another article that Massie introduced alleges that the [U.S. military operation in Venezuela](https://time.com/7342864/venezuela-caracas-strikes-trump/) that led to the [capture](https://time.com/7342941/venezuela-maduro-bombing-trump-delta-force/) of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife was carried out “without constitutional or legal authority.” “By engaging in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization, Secretary Hegseth is breaking the law and must be held accountable,” Massie said in a [statement](https://massie.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=395853). “Secretary Hegseth’s constitutional violations extend beyond the illegal war in Iran. He is 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.” “If we are to remain true to our oath to ‘support and defend the Constitution of the United States,’ Congress must not turn a blind eye to Secretary Hegseth’s unconstitutional and illegal actions,” Massie continued. Massie said to reporters on Tuesday that he didn’t tell Republican leaders ahead of time that he was going to make such a move. The impeachment push faces a steep uphill battle given GOP control over the House. And even if the resolution were to make it through the lower chamber, a two-thirds majority vote in the Republican-controlled Senate would be required to convict Hegseth in order to expel him from office, likely making the effort dead on arrival. It’s not yet clear when exactly the House will vote on Massie’s resolution; the lower chamber is scheduled to leave the nation’s capital later this week for a recess. **Read More:** [_Republican Senator Calls On Trump to Replace Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth_](https://time.com/article/2026/09/02/trump-hegseth-tillis-driscoll-resignation-pentagon/) Massie’s move to impeach Hegseth comes as the Defense Secretary has faced [widespread backlash](https://time.com/article/2026/09/02/trump-hegseth-tillis-driscoll-resignation-pentagon/)—from Democrats and some Republicans—over issues such as the Iran war and his internal management of the Pentagon. Earlier this month, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina called on the President to replace Hegseth, after Dan Driscoll stepped down as Army Secretary—one of at least 20 military and civilian leaders who have been ousted or resigned from the Department of Defense since Hegseth took over the agency. “I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country,” Tillis said in a [social media post](https://x.com/SenThomTillis/status/2095175195648512020). “He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force.” “I urge the President to find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it,” the North Carolina Senator continued. Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska, told [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/02/politics/video/ac360-elected-republicans-pushing-back-on-defense-secretary-hegseths-overhaul-of-military) that he agreed “with the sentiments” that Tillis had expressed, though he didn’t explicitly urge Trump to fire Hegseth. “I hate to tell the President who he should hire and fire. I don’t know if it’s really my role, but I would say this: I would not—\[Hegseth\] would not be on my team. I think he is—he has not been a very good leader in many ways,” Bacon said. “I wouldn’t hire him myself.” Despite these Republicans’ criticisms of Hegseth, the President has [continued to throw his support](https://time.com/article/2026/09/01/trump-response-hegseth-run-for-president-2028-top-contenders/) behind the Defense Secretary, saying that Hegseth is “doing a fantastic job” in the role. When asked about Massie’s measure during a press conference on Tuesday, Attorney General Todd Blanche [replied](https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2099928402585104472), “Secretary Hegseth is doing a phenomenal job” and went on to say that “the Secretary of War doesn’t just go off and do things—he follows the law.” This isn’t the first time that Massie has [clashed with the White House](https://time.com/7358546/trump-midterms-republicans-primaries/). Massie strongly voiced his opposition to the President’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” and [criticized](https://apnews.com/article/congress-kentucky-massie-gallrein-venezuela-c6942fd0734a2381fd9b1de06f4331de) Trump’s actions in Venezuela. Massie also joined Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna to [lead the push](https://time.com/7334230/epstein-files-vote-thomas-massie/) for the Department of Justice to release the files connected to the investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—an effort that Trump [long objected to](https://time.com/7333455/epstein-trump-boebert-situation-room/) before ultimately [signing](https://time.com/7335230/trump-signs-epstein-files-bill/) the legislation into law last year after it was [passed](https://time.com/7334902/epstein-files-released-house-vote/) by Congress. Trump publicly attacked the Kentucky lawmaker for months, [calling](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115963236796090298) him “the Worst ‘Republican’ Congressman we have had in many years” and “a totally ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly.” The President endorsed and campaigned for Massie’s primary opponent Ed Gallrein, who went on to defeat the lawmaker in May. ## Transcript [00:00] Donald Trump is just getting [00:02] further and further removed from reality. [00:06] We need the House and the Senate to [00:08] stay in session to deal with these issues. [00:11] But it's perfectly clear that to Speaker Johnson, [00:14] all that matters is politics all the time. [00:18] So he doesn't want to hear that there's going [00:21] to be an impeachment action against Hegseth. [00:24] So he sends everyone home. [00:26] And that means the American people [00:27] who need their prices cut. [00:29] That means the war in Iran continues to go. [00:32] And Speaker Johnson just shrugs and moves on. [00:35] I think it's absurd. [00:37] Abolishing, um, or demolishing a memorial? [00:44] Uh, one a world wide known venue for art. [00:49] I used to be a season ticket [00:50] holder when I lived up here in [00:51] Northern Virginia before I moved to North Carolina. [00:53] Look, we got to get past this sort of stuff. [00:56] These are distractions we don't need. [00:57] We've got an election. [00:59] Um, 48 days from now. [01:01] I think we should be focusing on that. [01:03] I think I'm pretty well staked out on my, [01:05] uh, my assessment of Mr. Hague said this is not personal. [01:11] I mean, people need to realize I [01:12] worked as a management consultant. [01:13] I went into companies and I [01:15] identified areas where they needed to improve. [01:17] We've got a management problem here. He needs to go. [01:20] Whether it's impeachment or [01:21] the most expedient route, it's just the president. 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