Massie Moves to Force Impeachment Vote Against Hegseth, Citing Civilian Deaths
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Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) has moved to force an impeachment vote against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, introducing eight articles on the House floor accusing Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanors on Tuesday.
Massie’s measure is privileged, meaning that the House will be forced to vote on it by Thursday. With Republicans in charge of the House, the articles are unlikely to pass — but it will get lawmakers on the record on Hegseth and the administration’s vastly unpopular, multi-front conflicts.
The articles cite the “illegal war” on Iran; the U.S.’s military campaigns in Venezuela, Yemen, and its boat strike campaign; Hegseth’s apathy toward avoiding civilian harm; and his efforts to suppress the speech of his critics.
“By engaging in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization, Secretary Hegseth is breaking the law and must be held accountable,” said Massie in a statement. “Secretary Hegseth’s constitutional violations extend beyond the illegal war in Iran. He is abusing the power of his office to ignore congressional war powers resolutions, to kidnap foreign leaders, and to intimidate critics of the Trump administration by retaliating against them for exercising free speech.”
The measure is the most expansive effort yet by any lawmaker to impeach Hegseth. A previous effort by Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Arizona) also cited the Iran war, but was not introduced in a privileged manner and thus did not get a vote........
