Republican congressman Massie moves to impeach Defence Secretary Hegseth

Republican Congressman Thomas Massie has introduced a resolution to impeach US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. He read out eight articles of impeachment in the House of Representatives on Monday, at its first session after the midterm elections.

The resolution says Hegseth violated the Constitution and carried out unlawful orders by waging war on Iran without congressional authorisation. Under the War Powers Resolution, congressional approval is mandatory for such military action, the resolution states.

Massie accuses Hegseth of cultivating a warmaking culture dismissive of the rules of engagement, causing civilian harm. As an example he cited the US bombing of a school in Minab, Iran, at the start of the US-Israel war in February, which killed more than 150 people, including about 120 children, according to the resolution.

The resolution also raises the US strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific. Massie alleges those strikes ignored mandatory safeguards and amounted to extrajudicial killings.

Other charges include the abduction of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, suppressing free speech by restricting media access to the Pentagon, and waging an unlawful war in Yemen against the Houthis.

Massie said he first raised the same eight articles in September. At the time, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson avoided a vote in the Republican-led Congress by sending lawmakers home early.

At a news conference on Monday, Massie said he would welcome votes from any lawmakers who want Hegseth removed, even if they have not read the details of his bill. He said he understands that some of them simply want to vote for it because they want to see Hegseth gone, and he welcomes their vote.

Massie urged Hegseth to resign before Democrats take control of Congress in January. He predicted their investigations would include testimony from senior administration officials on how the Defence Department has been run under Hegseth.

Hegseth, however, remained defiant. He told reporters on Monday that he welcomes the opportunity to defend his actions in Congress. In his words, if the military actions taken by the Trump administration are to be litigated, he is happy to do it all day long. He is expected to hold a news conference on Tuesday.

For the impeachment to succeed, a majority of the 435-member House of Representatives would need to vote in favour. Two-thirds of the Senate's 100 lawmakers would then need to vote to remove him.

The measure is unlikely to succeed in the current Republican-led Congress. But pressure is likely to mount on Hegseth when a new set of Democratic lawmakers, who won a sweeping victory in the midterm elections, are sworn into office in January.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is expected to become speaker in January, said over the weekend that he supported Hegseth's impeachment. In his words, the so-called secretary of defence has abused his power, undermined national security, and engineered a reckless and costly war of choice in Iran.

Although Democrats will hold the majority in the Senate, they are expected to have about 54 seats, short of the 67 votes needed to convict and remove Hegseth.

Key Republican leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson, have opposed Massie's move. Johnson told reporters that Cabinet secretaries are not impeached for political gain or for cheap tricks, and in his view that is what this is, and everybody knows it.

President Donald Trump defended Hegseth on Sunday, saying he is guilty of two things, basically winning two wars. Trump said he believes the Middle East and Israel combined were saved.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also defended Hegseth, saying he has done a good job despite widespread criticism. Rubio called the Iran war necessary, while acknowledging that it was not necessarily popular.