In a significant move, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on Tuesday evening to send a resolution with eight impeachment articles against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the House Judiciary Committee. This action effectively places the impeachment motion on political life support, given that the GOP-led committee is not anticipated to advance the resolution for a full vote.
This procedural decision, backed by Republican leadership, removes the measure from immediate consideration on the House floor. With the Republicans maintaining control until early January, the expectation is that this resolution will see no further actions in the current Congress.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who is departing Congress in January after losing his primary, introduced the resolution on Monday. Its privileged status mandated that House leaders address it within two legislative days, culminating in Massie reading a 34-page document on the floor, where he accused Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanors.
The articles focus on the ongoing conflict with Iran that erupted in late February 2026, in addition to military operations in Latin America, Yemen, and beyond.
Articles of Impeachment
Among the articles, three allege breaches of the 1973 War Powers Resolution. They cite actions such as initiating hostilities with Iran without the necessary congressional declarations, continuing military operations after a legislative resolution mandated troop withdrawal, and exceeding the 60-day limit for unauthorized military actions.
A fourth article accuses Hegseth of causing civilian casualties in a February strike on a school in Minab, Iran, by altering Pentagon protocols.
Other articles pertain to U.S. strikes on vessels suspected of drug trafficking, which are characterized in the resolution as extrajudicial killings that resulted in over 200 deaths. The specifics also include the military operation that captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in 2025, and alleged retaliation against Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) for urging service members to disobey illegal orders.
Hegseth has dismissed these charges, characterizing them as mere policy disagreements rather than genuine impeachable offenses. At a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday, he referred to the impeachment efforts as a “political spectacle” and a “farce.”
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth survives a House impeachment effort as Republicans vote 211–204 to send eight articles to committee.
Rep. Thomas Massie is the lone Republican to break ranks.
Democrats can revive the impeachment effort without Republican votes when they take…
— AF Post (@AFpost) November 10, 2026
Tuesday’s vote effectively halted any further advancement of the impeachment process for the remainder of the 119th Congress. Only Massie opposed the referral motion, as the others from his party supported sending the resolution to committee.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) firmly endorsed the resolution. In a conversation with ABC News on November 8, Jeffries stated that Hegseth had “abused his power” and described the current military conflict as a “reckless and costly war of choice in Iran.” He indicated that this matter would be revisited upon the Democrats’ return to Washington.
Members of the upcoming majority may introduce a new impeachment resolution once the 120th Congress is inaugurated. However, even if such a measure were to pass in the House, a two-thirds vote in the Senate would still be necessary for conviction and removal.
