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Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., moved Tuesday to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Trump administration’s war with Iran, accusing the Pentagon chief of exceeding his constitutional authority and defying Congress.
Massie read his articles of impeachment aloud on the House floor shortly after the chamber convened, arguing that Hegseth committed multiple “high crimes and misdemeanors” through his handling of the conflict.
The resolution accuses Hegseth of directing military operations against Iran without congressional authorization, continuing the conflict after Congress acted to require U.S. forces to withdraw, and allowing military actions that Massie says resulted in unnecessary civilian casualties.
Because Massie filed the impeachment resolution as a privileged measure, the House must take it up within two legislative days. That means lawmakers could be forced to vote on the measure before leaving Washington for an extended recess.
Massie challenges Hegseth’s authority
At the center of Massie’s case is the constitutional division of war powers between Congress and the president.
Massie has argued that the administration cannot continue military operations in Iran without congressional authorization. His impeachment resolution follows several congressional efforts to invoke the War Powers Resolution and restrict the administration’s authority to continue the conflict.
The House voted Tuesday night, 220-204, for another war powers resolution seeking to end the Iran war unless Congress authorizes continued military action. All Democrats and seven Republicans supported the measure.
Those votes have not ended the conflict. The Trump administration maintains that the military campaign is necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and has defended the president’s authority to conduct the operation.
Massie disputes that justification and has repeatedly criticized the administration’s decision to launch and continue the war.
Hegseth’s Pentagon defends him
The Pentagon rejected Massie’s allegations.
“The entire Department is unified behind the Secretary’s vision and will continue working to put our warfighters and America first,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement.
The administration has maintained that military action against Iran was necessary to address the threat posed by Tehran’s nuclear program. Critics of the administration’s justification have pointed to assessments questioning how close Iran was to developing a nuclear weapon before the conflict began.
The impeachment resolution represents Massie’s allegations, not a finding by the House that Hegseth committed impeachable offenses.
Massie’s break with Trump
Massie has become one of the most prominent Republican critics of Trump’s foreign-policy decisions and has repeatedly clashed with the president and members of his own party.
He is also leaving Congress after losing the Republican primary in Kentucky earlier this year to Ed Gallrein, a Trump-backed candidate.
Massie previously worked with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California on legislation compelling the Trump administration to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, another issue that put him at odds with the White House.
His opposition to the Iran war has likewise crossed party lines. Massie has joined Democrats and a small group of Republicans in supporting efforts to limit the administration’s authority to continue the conflict without congressional approval.
A costly and continuing war
The impeachment effort comes as the Iran conflict enters its seventh month and its financial and economic effects become increasingly significant.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated Tuesday that the war had cost the Defense Department more than $38 billion through Aug. 1 and could continue costing as much as $3 billion per month, depending on the intensity of military operations. The CBO also estimated that disruptions to oil and natural-gas shipments could push inflation roughly 0.5 percentage points higher than previously projected through the first quarter of 2027.
The conflict began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. Military exchanges have continued for more than six months, including recent clashes involving Iranian forces and U.S. assets in the Persian Gulf.
What happens next
The House must act on Massie’s impeachment resolution within the next two legislative days.
Republican leaders could seek to table the resolution rather than allow an extended debate or move directly toward a vote on impeachment. With Republicans controlling the House, the measure faces a difficult path.
But regardless of its outcome, the resolution will put lawmakers on record over Hegseth’s conduct of the Iran war and the broader question of how much authority the president and Pentagon have to continue military operations without new congressional authorization.
For Massie, the impeachment effort represents another challenge to the administration’s handling of the conflict. For Hegseth, it creates a new congressional test as the Trump administration continues its military campaign against Iran.
