Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) signaled Tuesday that he is open to requesting a separate House vote on each of his eight articles of impeachment against War Secretary Pete Hegseth after a key critic of the Pentagon chief split on support for the articles.
Massie’s impeachment effort, introduced Monday in the lower chamber, is likely to receive nearly unanimous Democratic support. But the Republican rebel’s initiative against President Donald Trump’s war secretary must garner the support of several more disgruntled GOP members to pass the House, which Republicans control 218-214.
With a key Republican Hegseth critic, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), announcing Tuesday that he had decided against voting to impeach the secretary due to not supporting all eight articles, Massie said the same day that he would tentatively plan to introduce each article separately.
“I’ve heard from several members they agree with some of the Articles of Impeachment but not all of them,” he wrote in a post to X. “If the motion to kill my resolution by referring it to committee fails, and we proceed to the Articles themselves, I’ll request a vote on each of the Articles separately.”
Massie’s articles of impeachment against Hegseth include charges for violating the War Powers Resolution in conflicts in Iran and Yemen, ignoring laws to minimize civilian casualties, overseeing extrajudicial lethal force against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, and capturing former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro without congressional approval.
Aside from Bacon, Reps. James Comer (R-KY) and French Hill (R-AR) appear to be open to impeaching Hegseth in the House, according to Politico. Multiple GOP sources told CNN they expect it to pass. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) also suggested earlier this week that House Republicans “didn’t have the votes to stop a Hegseth impeachment.”
Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are among Republicans in the upper chamber who could be open to backing impeachment if the effort makes it to the upper chamber, as they voted against the secretary’s confirmation in early 2025. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) is also reportedly open to the idea, while Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) questioned the secretary’s tactics earlier this month.
On Tuesday, Hegseth held a rare press conference targeting the impeachment effort, saying the effort was “sabotage” and would hand a “propaganda victory” to Iran and other adversaries.
Massie’s impeachment resolution would need a majority to pass the House, where Republicans hold a 218-214 majority until Jan. 3, 2027. But it would require two-thirds of senators to affirm a guilty verdict in the upper chamber, where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority until January 2027.
The House has voted to impeach only two Cabinet members in U.S. history. The Senate did not convict either one.
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Top Democrats, such as Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), have signaled that they could renew the impeachment when they take power in January, should Massie’s effort fall short during the remainder of the GOP-controlled Congress.
Other Democrats pushing the impeachment effort include Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Al Green (D-TX).