Republican Thomas Massie, who represents Kentucky in the US House of Representatives, introduced a resolution in Congress to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth over military operations in Iran, operations in Venezuela, and strikes against the Yemeni Houthis in 2025. He's a priority (privileged resolution) submitted the document to a vote, which should take place within two days.
Massie, who consistently criticizes the US operation in Iran, accused fellow party member Hegseth of disobeying Congress – according to him, military actions against Tehran are illegal. The congressman said that the minister violated the US Constitution and his oath of office, and also abused his powers, thereby undermining his credibility. Massi was especially harsh in his criticism of the alleged attack on the Iranian school in Minab.
In total, Massie issued eight articles of impeachment, that is, he actually accused Hegseth of violating the Constitution eight times. In particular, he said, the Pentagon’s operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as it was carried out without the permission of Congress, and the strikes on Yemen in 2025 were illegal.
He also recalled that Hegseth had censured Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat. In early 2026, the secretary initiated a procedure that could strip Kelly, a Desert Storm veteran and former astronaut, of his retired military designation and reduce his pension.
As Axios notes, Massie did not warn GOP leaders about plans to introduce the resolution.
A member of the House of Representatives since 2012, Massie lost the Kentucky Republican primary in May to Navy veteran Ed Gallrein, who was endorsed by US President Donald Trump. Thus, Massie will leave Congress early next year. As RTVI.US reported, Massie has been opposing Trump since his first presidential term on a number of issues, including the allocation of assistance to Americans during the coronavirus pandemic and the president’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”
Last year, Massey authored an initiative to declassify the case of sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein – Trump was suspected of being an accomplice. Under Joe Biden, Massie was one of the main critics of aid to Ukraine, and earlier, in 2018, criticized “bureaucrats” and “talking heads” in Washington for “Russophobic rhetoric.”
This year, Massie joined Democrats in voting for a resolution to limit Trump's war powers. In the summer, it was approved by both houses of Congress, but, as RTVI said, Trump can ignore this document. The resolution is largely symbolic and only expresses disapproval of actions in Iran.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on another war powers resolution against Iran.
Hegseth, in turn, also previously criticized Massey and called him an obstructionist, that is, one who constantly delays or disrupts meetings.
Let us recall that the Democrats brought up the impeachment of Hegseth back in April – the reason was Iran, the leak of classified information in the Signal messenger, and the deterioration of relations with NATO allies.
As RTVI reported, those around Trump, according to the president’s biographer Michael Wolf, consider Hegseth to be incompetent. The minister also acquired the nickname “Colonel Vodka”. But the head of the White House himself opposes the dismissal of the former Fox host. Hegseth, according to the biographer, was chosen for this position so that he could “cleanse” the Pentagon of commanders disloyal to Trump.
