Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican on his way out of Congress, is preparing to force a House vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The incoming Democratic Speaker says he will back it.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York takes the Speaker’s gavel in January.
He announced his position on ABC’s This Week and said Democrats will pursue impeachment at the end of this year and again once the new Congress is sworn in.
“I’m a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution. The so-called secretary of defense has abused his power, undermined our national security, and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed prices on the American people and made the country less safe. Pete Hegseth has got to go,” Jeffries said.
Jeffries tied his case directly to the Iran conflict. He blamed the war for higher prices and said the defense secretary has weakened the country’s security.
House Democrats take up the resolution Tuesday, when members return to Washington for the first time since the November midterm elections.
Jeffries predicted “incredibly strong support” in the caucus. He did not say every Democrat would vote yes.
Massie supplies the legislative text. In September, he filed eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth.
They accused the defense secretary of violating the War Powers Resolution of 1973 through U.S. military operations in Iran, and they listed additional charges tied to military actions and congressional oversight.
That filing never received a floor vote, because the House adjourned early.
Massie now says he will file again, as soon as Monday or during the first week of the lame-duck session, which opens around November 9.
Only one development would stop him: Hegseth leaving office.
The type of resolution gives Massie leverage. Under House Rule IX, a privileged resolution requires the Speaker to schedule consideration within two legislative days.
Massie puts the odds of passage in the Republican-controlled House above 50 percent. He cites expected Democratic support.
He also points to Republicans whose campaigns have ended and who may vote yes more readily than they would have earlier in the year.
The calendar now holds several markers.
Democrats meet Tuesday, Massie files Monday or in the lame duck’s first week, and the two-day Speaker deadline follows. The new Congress arrives January 3.
A yes vote in the lame-duck session would impeach Hegseth and send the case to the Senate. Republicans control that chamber until early January.
Democrats won majorities in both chambers in the November 2026 midterms. They take charge when the 120th Congress convenes January 3.
That majority opens a second path. Democratic leaders could bypass the privileged route and run impeachment through regular order, with committee investigations and hearings.
Jeffries and other Democrats have previously said they would seek “accountability” for Hegseth if he stays in his post, using oversight powers available to the majority.
The Constitution gives the House sole authority to impeach the president, the vice president and all civil officers of the United States, a category that covers cabinet secretaries.
Members need a simple majority on one or more articles alleging “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” One approved article is enough to impeach.
The Senate then conducts the trial. For a cabinet official, the vice president or the Senate’s president pro tempore presides instead of the chief justice.
Removal requires a two-thirds vote of the senators present.
The Senate has never convicted and removed a cabinet secretary after an impeachment.
In 1876, the House impeached War Secretary William Belknap. He resigned before his trial, and the Senate later acquitted him.
In 2024, the House impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The Senate declined to try the case.
