Nicolai Haugsted
A Republican lawmaker is targeting Pete Hegseth with eight charges that could threaten his position in Trump’s administration.
Political disagreements within Donald Trump’s Republican Party have become increasingly difficult to ignore, particularly as the administration faces growing scrutiny over its military operations abroad.
The president has repeatedly defended his national security team, but not every Republican in Congress is prepared to give the administration a free pass.
Now, one of Trump’s own party colleagues is attempting to hold a senior Cabinet official accountable through one of Washington’s most serious constitutional procedures.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing eight articles of impeachment introduced by Republican Representative Thomas Massie, covering military operations in Iran, Venezuela and Yemen, as well as allegations involving the constitutional rights of a Democratic senator, Reuters can reveal.
Hegseth denies wrongdoing, while Trump has publicly defended him and criticized Massie for pursuing the case.
Iran accounts for half of the charges
Four of the eight impeachment articles concern the administration’s military campaign against Iran.
Three focus on the constitutional limits of military operations conducted without congressional authorization.
Massie accuses Hegseth of directing, authorizing and continuing military action against Iran beyond the 60-day limit established under US war powers legislation.
The central allegation is that the defense secretary helped sustain a conflict without a formal declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force from Congress.
The dispute raises a fundamental question about who has the authority to keep American troops engaged in prolonged military operations.
Although the president serves as commander in chief, Congress retains important constitutional powers over war.
The fourth Iran-related charge concerns civilian casualties.
Massie alleges that Hegseth failed to comply with legal requirements intended to minimize harm to civilians during military operations.
The accusation specifically references a February 28 strike on a girls’ school in Minab, Iran, on the opening day of the conflict.
Scores of children were killed in the attack, which has become a particularly serious element of the allegations against the defense secretary.
The impeachment article alleges a failure to observe civilian-protection requirements. It does not, by itself, establish Hegseth’s personal responsibility for the strike.
Venezuela operations trigger two additional accusations
The administration’s military intervention in Venezuela forms the basis of another two impeachment articles.
American forces removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power in January 2026, an operation that prompted questions about the legal authority behind the intervention.
Massie accuses Hegseth of directing the kidnapping of a sovereign foreign leader.
A separate charge concerns lethal military strikes conducted in the Caribbean and Pacific.
According to the allegations, Hegseth authorized extrajudicial strikes that resulted in more than 220 deaths.
The accusation centers on whether those operations complied with applicable legal requirements and whether the defense secretary exceeded his authority.
Hegseth has rejected allegations of wrongdoing, and the charges remain accusations rather than established findings.
Military campaign in Yemen also comes under scrutiny
The seventh impeachment article concerns US military operations against Houthi fighters in Yemen.
Massie alleges that Hegseth directed and executed unlawful strikes during Operation Rough Rider, the 2025 American and British air and naval campaign targeting the Iran-aligned group.
The operation was intended to weaken Houthi military capabilities amid threats to regional shipping and security.
However, the impeachment charge challenges the legality of the military actions undertaken during the campaign.
Together with the Iran and Venezuela allegations, the Yemen charge reflects Massie’s broader challenge to the administration’s use of military force.
Rather than focusing on a single controversial decision, the Republican congressman is questioning Hegseth’s conduct across several separate operations.
Democratic senator’s free speech becomes the eighth charge
The final impeachment article has nothing to do with foreign military operations.
Instead, it concerns Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former Navy captain.
In 2025, Kelly joined five other Democratic lawmakers with military or intelligence backgrounds in urging American service members to refuse unlawful orders.
Hegseth subsequently sought to prosecute Kelly and reduce his retired military rank.
Massie alleges that those actions constituted unlawful retaliation against speech protected by the Constitution.
The accusation raises questions about the limits of a defense secretary’s authority when dealing with retired military personnel who also hold elected office.
Kelly’s status as a sitting senator adds another constitutional dimension to the dispute.
The impeachment article argues that Hegseth improperly targeted him for expressing a political and legal position.
Trump stands firmly behind Hegseth
Despite the seriousness of the allegations, Hegseth has made clear that he rejects accusations of misconduct.
Trump has also pledged to stand by his defense secretary, while directing criticism toward Massie.
The political circumstances are particularly unusual because the impeachment effort originates from a Republican lawmaker targeting an official serving under a Republican president.
Under the US Constitution, the House of Representatives can impeach federal civil officers, including Cabinet secretaries, for “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Impeachment requires a simple majority in the House, but removal from office would require conviction by a two-thirds majority in the Senate.
Introducing articles of impeachment does not mean that the allegations have been proven or that removal is inevitable.
For Massie, the eight charges represent an attempt to challenge the legality of decisions made at the highest levels of the Pentagon.
For Trump, they present another test of his ability to maintain Republican unity while defending one of his most prominent Cabinet members.
And for Hegseth, the immediate challenge is no longer limited to criticism from Democrats. A member of his own party is now formally seeking to remove him from office.
