Pentagon rejects allegations as House faces Thursday deadline
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), a long-time critic of the Trump administration, introduced articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Tuesday, alleging that Hegseth waged the Iran war illegally and committed other “high crimes and misdemeanors,” according to NPR. Massie read the articles aloud from the House floor shortly after the chamber convened at noon.
The articles allege that Hegseth initiated the conflict unlawfully, defied Congress’ order to withdraw from the conflict, and incurred unnecessary civilian casualties.
Massie has repeatedly clashed with members of his own party in recent years and is ending his time in office after losing his primary to an opponent backed by President Trump, NPR reported. The Kentucky Republican’s recent work in Congress extends beyond the war. Working alongside Democrat Ro Khanna of California, Massie led the successful effort to compel the Trump administration to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
House Republicans in theory have enough votes to defeat the proposal, though NPR reported the vote could prove a complicated one for members in competitive districts. NPR described the war as “incredibly unpopular among the American public” and reported that it “has contributed to rising costs in the United States.”
The administration maintains the conflict was necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, though experts maintain the country was not close to developing one before the conflict began six months ago, according to NPR.
The Pentagon rejected the allegations. In a statement to NPR, press secretary Kingsley Wilson wrote that “Secretary Hegseth has been a transformative leader for the Department of War,” adding that “the entire Department is unified behind the Secretary’s vision and will continue working to put our warfighters and America first.”
The chamber must act on Massie’s proposal by Thursday, per NPR — a quick turnaround that compresses the procedural window before the body leaves Washington this week for an extended recess that will end after the November midterm elections.