Republican Rep. Thomas Massie introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the House floor Monday afternoon.
Massie read aloud all eight articles of impeachment he filed against Hegseth, speaking for about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Rep. Thomas Massie speaks on the House floor introducing articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington, Nov. 9, 2026.
House TV
He explained his resolution afterward.
“[President Trump and Secretary Hegseth] didn’t meet the requirements to take action without Congress,” Massie told reporters regarding the Iran war, later adding, “Like there’s no argument here. If this were in a courtroom, we wouldn’t need witnesses. We wouldn’t need to provide evidence.”
The House must take up the measure, since impeachment is a privileged matter, within two legislative days — forcing Republicans to go on the record after suffering major losses in the 2026 midterm elections. Calls to impeach Hegseth have grown as several Republicans have attributed the GOP’s sweeping midterm losses to the Iran war.
In an impromptu White House briefing Monday afternoon, Trump said he would “stand by” Hegseth, even if he’s impeached.
“He won two wars. He was in charge. We all won. I had great people,” Trump told reporters.
It’s unclear whether an impeachment effort will succeed in the House, which is still under Republican control until Jan. 3. But Massie told ABC News’ Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl that he’s confident there will be enough GOP defectors for it to pass.
Massie needs a simple majority for the impeachment resolution to succeed in the House, meaning that just three Republicans need to vote with all Democrats to prevail.
Rep. Thomas Massie holds a press conference about his resolution to impeach Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, on Capitol Hill in Washington, November 9, 2026.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
Massie said he thinks impeachment will only be messier if the matter waits until Democrats are in control of Congress in January.
“Will it work? I hope for his sake it does work, because the Democrats are going to bring people in here who have served under him and with him, give them protection,” Massie told reporters Monday afternoon, adding that he predicted there would be a “robust trial over in the Senate.”
It doesn’t appear that any Democrats will vote against the impeachment effort. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries came out in support of impeaching Hegseth saying on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday that he’s a “hard yes.”
GOP leaders could offer a motion to “table” the resolution rather than take a direct vote on the underlying measure. That would also need to pass by a simple majority.
Even if the measure passes in the House, it would still need approval by a two-thirds majority in the GOP-controlled Senate, a lofty threshold that’s unlikely to be met.
President Donald Trump speaks alongside Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during a Cabinet Meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, December 2, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Hegseth said earlier Monday that he’s “not worried about” the efforts to impeach him over his controversial leadership at the Pentagon and role administering the Iran war, announcing a rare press conference on the topic set for Tuesday.
“We’re not worried about that,” Hegseth said when asked by a reporter about Republican support on Capitol Hill amid the impeachment effort led by Massie.
“We’re going to do a press conference tomorrow morning at the Pentagon on that very topic. So I’ll save my remarks there. I hope you all come loaded for bear with your questions,” said Hegseth, who hasn’t held a press conference since May.
Rep. Thomas Massie speaks after losing the Republican party’s nomination during an election night watch party at the Marriott Cincinnati Airport, May 19, 2026, in Hebron, Ky.
Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo
Massie offered a prebuttal to Hegseth’s press conference planned for Tuesday, saying he hopes the Pentagon’s chief addresses the articles of impeachment.
“Tell us why you are not guilty of each of these eight articles of impeachment,” Massie said.
Massie attempted to introduce articles of impeachment in mid-September only to be thwarted by Speaker Mike Johnson, who canceled the final scheduled day of legislative business before the midterm elections — staving off a vote at the time.
Massie, a conservative who has gained a reputation as a constitutionalist through his seven terms in the House, lost a primary earlier this summer after President Donald Trump endorsed his opponent.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, October 30, 2026.
Annabelle Gordon/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer declined to back the Hegseth impeachment effort, but Massie volunteered that “there’s a lot of questions about” Hegseth, including the embattled secretary’s strategy in Iran.
“I will weigh the debate and make a decision,” retiring Republican Rep. Don Bacon told ABC News’ Kyra Phillips on Friday when asked if he will vote to impeach Hegseth. “I do think the secretary has made some bad mistakes.”
Trump has maintained that he has “every intention to keep” Hegseth atop the Pentagon.
In a video posted Thursday, Hegseth proclaimed that he will not back down — doubling down on the Iran war and his cultural agenda at the Pentagon while drawing a parallel to Trump.
“This is not about me, but of course the other side, they’re obsessed. A disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democratic allies has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly. Just like they tried against President Trump twice,” Hegseth said in the video.
