Well, he won two wars. I don’t know how you can impeach him,
President Donald Trump said, defending US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth against a newly filed impeachment resolution. Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie filed the measure in the House of Representatives on Monday, bringing eight articles of impeachment that accuse Hegseth of bypassing congressional approval to wage war against Iran and committing extrajudicial killings.
Massie, who has frequently broken with the administration, read the resolution aloud during the afternoon session, according to reporting by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. The filing forces the House to take up the measure within two legislative days.
The resolution accuses Hegseth of violating multiple sections of the War Powers Resolution of 1973 by initiating an unauthorized conflict with Iran. Massie told the House that Hegseth knowingly executed unlawful orders and ignored congressional directives to remove US forces from hostilities.
The charges extend beyond the Middle East. According to the resolution, Hegseth directed extrajudicial killings of 243 individuals on small boats suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean. Massie argued that the defense secretary acted as judge, jury, and executioner without establishing a lawful basis for treating those vessels as military targets.
The text also points to the military operations in Yemen under Operation Rough Rider in March 2025. The filing also accuses Hegseth of kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in January, and attempting to intimidate Democratic Senator Mark Kelly over his public criticism.
The resolution highlights the strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, Iran, which resulted in more than 200 civilian casualties. Massie told lawmakers that three BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from US Navy warships struck the school during morning classes.
Massie accused Hegseth of ignoring laws designed to minimize civilian casualties and dismantling legal review safeguards necessary to distinguish civilian objects from military targets. The Pentagon has not admitted responsibility for the strike.
Yahoo News reported that top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries voiced firm support for the measure, stating during a television appearance that he is a hard ‘yes’ on the Hegseth resolution
and accusing the defense secretary of abusing his position and undermining national security.
Hegseth dismissed the impeachment effort while speaking to reporters on Monday, characterizing his critics as politically motivated opponents of his success. We’re not worried about that,
he said.
If you want to take issue with what we did in Epic Fury or Rough Rider or nabbing Nicolás Maduro, you’re taking issue with the troops and what they accomplished, which is historic,
Hegseth told reporters, according to Yahoo News. Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell added in a statement to TIME that Hegseth will not back down or be deterred by politicians seeking partisan points.
At the War Department: We Stand. We Fight. We Defend the Republic. pic.twitter.com/Kkr0DazmCE
Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also backed the defense secretary, calling the impeachment attempt unfair. Republicans currently retain control of both chambers of Congress, though a small group of party members joining Democrats could allow the House to pass the resolution.
Hegseth has scheduled a press conference at the Pentagon for Tuesday morning to address the impeachment proceedings directly.
Earlier coverage: Rep. Thomas Massie to Introduce Impeachment Measure Against Pete Hegseth
