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By Hollie Silverman
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, gave his support on Sunday to a Republican-led effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying he was a “hard yes” on a forthcoming resolution and asserting that the Pentagon chief “has got to go.”
The endorsement aligns top House Democratic leadership with outgoing Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, who announced plans to reintroduce a privileged impeachment resolution against Hegseth as early as Monday. The congressman previously introduced an eight-article impeachment resolution against the defense secretary in September.
“I’m a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution,” Jeffries said on ABC News' This Week. “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.”
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The bipartisan push comes in the wake of sweeping Democratic victories in Tuesday's midterm elections, in which the party secured control of both chambers of Congress by flipping at least seven Senate seats and more than two dozen House seats. After the sweeping GOP defeats, calls for Hegseth's removal grew. The ongoing war in Iran, and rising gas prices associated with the conflict, are thought by some Republicans to have been a central reason for the losses.
Since the newly elected Congress will not be sworn in until January, any vote on Massie’s resolution during the current lame-duck session would occur under the existing Republican majority.
Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon by email Sunday for comment.
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Massie's Articles Target War Powers, Military Action
Massie’s 34-page resolution, which he originally read on the House floor in September, outlines eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth.
Article I alleges that Hegseth, in his capacity as defense secretary, executed unlawful orders in contravention of Section 2(c) of the War Powers Resolution of 1973. The resolution argues that Congress has the constitutional authority to initiate war and alleges that the administration introduced U.S. forces into hostilities without a declaration of war, specific statutory authorization or a national emergency created by an attack on the United States.
Subsequent articles detail additional War Powers claims, alongside allegations concerning civilian casualties, extrajudicial killings, and other military operations.
The effort followed months of congressional opposition to the administration’s Iran campaign. In June, the House passed a war-powers resolution by a vote of 215-208 aimed at curbing military action that Congress had not authorized. Four Republicans, Massie, Warren Davidson, Tom Barrett and Brian Fitzpatrick, joined Democrats in supporting the measure.
In a video posted to social media last week, Hegseth accused Massie of engaging in political theater and of introducing "sham" articles of impeachment.
“A disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies, has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly, just like they tried against President Trump twice," Hegseth said. “You see, their policies don't work. So, their obsession with political theater disguised as power drives them to try to destroy their opponents. It's all about the politics of personal destruction.”
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What Trump Said About Hegseth
Questions about Hegseth's future have intensified after reports that President Donald Trump has privately asked advisers whether the defense secretary should remain in his position following Tuesday's midterm results.
Trump publicly rejected suggestions that he was preparing to dismiss Hegseth.
Asked directly about reports that Hegseth's future was under review, the president replied: "No, I think he's doing a very good job."
The White House later said Trump retained "full confidence" in the Pentagon chief.
He also dismissed speculation that Hegseth could be moved into another role, saying he had not heard discussions about appointing him to a Senate vacancy.
Next Steps and Impeachment Process
While Jeffries stated his individual position was clear, he did not guarantee the entire Democratic caucus would vote in favor of the resolution.
“We’ll certainly have that conversation on Tuesday morning when we reconvene for the first time in Washington, D.C.,” Jeffries, who could possibly be the next House speaker, said. “But I believe there will be incredibly strong support for that resolution.”
House leaders must schedule action on a privileged resolution within two legislative days of its introduction on the floor.
Under the U.S. Constitution, impeaching a Cabinet official requires a simple majority vote in the House. If one or more articles pass, the matter advances to the Senate, where conviction and removal from office require a two-thirds majority of senators present.
Should the resolution fail to clear the Republican-controlled House during the lame-duck session, incoming Democratic majorities could pursue separate investigations or renew impeachment proceedings after taking control of Congress in January.
Newsweek*’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.* Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Steve Mollman and Anthony Murray.
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