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Hegseth Calls Impeachment Push a 'Farce' as House Weighs Massie's Eight Articles

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed Rep. Thomas Massie's eight articles of impeachment as "a farce" at his first Pentagon briefing since May. The House could vote as early as Tuesday evening on the resolution, which centers on the war with Iran.

iShook Opinion

Nov 10, 2026 - 08:20

Updated: 37 minutes ago

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Hegseth Calls Impeachment Push a 'Farce' as House Weighs Massie's Eight Articles

AI-generated editorial illustration. The Pentagon and Capitol with briefing microphones.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday called a Republican congressman's effort to impeach him "a farce" and "a stunt," speaking at a Pentagon news conference hours before the House could hold its first votes on the measure, NBC News reported. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., reintroduced eight articles of impeachment on Monday, accusing Hegseth of waging an unauthorized war against Iran and abusing the powers of his office.

The briefing was Hegseth's first on camera at the Pentagon since May 5, according to Stars and Stripes. The House could vote as early as 5:30 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, according to the daily floor schedule cited by NBC News.

What Hegseth said

Hegseth described Massie as "disgruntled" and called the articles "a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment," NBC News reported. He argued that the charges reflected policy disagreements rather than impeachable offenses. "The proper remedy for a policy disagreement, it's legislation, it's debate, it's the next presidential election," he said. Hegseth also defended U.S. military operations against Iran, saying of President Donald Trump, "He did not kick the can, he kicked their teeth in."

Hegseth previewed that argument in a video posted on X last week. "A disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies, has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly, just like they tried against President Trump twice," Hegseth said in the video, CBS News reported. Asked by reporters on Monday whether he had enough Republican support to defeat the effort, he said, "We're not worried about that."

Trump has stood by his defense secretary. "I'll stand by him," Trump said at an impromptu briefing on Monday, according to NPR. "He won two wars. He was in charge. We all won."

The eight articles

Massie's 34-page resolution accuses Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanors, CBS News reported. According to NPR, three of the eight articles charge him with illegally waging war against Iran in violation of the 1973 War Powers Resolution. Roll Call reported that those articles allege he prosecuted the war without congressional authorization or an imminent threat, continued it after the House and Senate adopted a concurrent resolution in June calling for the withdrawal of U.S. forces, and kept it going after the law's 60-day termination period expired.

The remaining articles accuse Hegseth of disregarding laws meant to minimize civilian casualties; overseeing what the resolution calls "extrajudicial killings" in strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean; retaliating against Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., over a video telling service members they can refuse illegal orders; directing the January operation that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro without congressional authorization; and waging an unauthorized war in Yemen, according to NPR and Roll Call.

The civilian-casualty article cites the strike on an Iranian school earlier this year, CBS News reported. Stars and Stripes said the Pentagon has yet to release the findings of its investigation into the Feb. 28 airstrike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School, where at least 168 people died, most of them children, according to Iranian state media.

Reading the articles on the House floor, Massie said Hegseth "has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law," according to NBC News.

How the vote could unfold

Because Massie filed the measure as a privileged resolution, House leaders must act on it within two legislative days, NBC News reported. Republicans could move to table the resolution or refer it to committee; either motion needs a majority and, if successful, would prevent a vote on impeachment itself. If such a motion fails, the House would vote on the articles, which also require a simple majority. Conviction and removal in the Senate would require a two-thirds majority, Euronews reported.

Massie first introduced the articles in September, but Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., adjourned the House early ahead of the midterm elections, and the resolution expired, NPR reported. Roll Call noted that, according to the Congressional Research Service, recent attempts to impeach an official as a question of the privileges of the House have not resulted in approval.

Attendance could shape the outcome. NBC News reported that 36 House members were absent for votes on Monday night and that it had not heard from any Republican other than Massie who had committed to backing impeachment. Massie said he had neither asked for nor received assurances of support from colleagues, according to Roll Call.

Where lawmakers stand

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that he is a "hard yes," CBS News reported. Johnson said Monday that impeaching Hegseth amid hostilities abroad "would be a terrible, terrible look." Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who is retiring, said he was "wrestling" with the decision. "I don't think he's been a good secretary, but do you impeach a guy for that? It has to be a high crime or misdemeanor," Bacon told reporters. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, told NPR that impeachment would be "a mistake."

Massie, who lost his Republican primary this year and is leaving Congress, urged the Senate to take up the case and noted the articles would carry into the next Congress, when Democrats will hold a Senate majority, according to CBS News. Democrats won control of both chambers in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, and Roll Call reported that the vote was driven largely by opposition to the Iran war and its effect on prices.

If impeached, Hegseth would be the third Cabinet secretary in U.S. history to face that step, after Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876 and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in 2024, CBS News reported. Belknap was acquitted by the Senate, and the charges against Mayorkas were dismissed.