House Dodges Votes On Articles Of Impeachment Against President Trump And Sec. Of War Hegseth
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This week, the United States House of Representatives was faced with two separate high-profile articles of impeachment.
The first was filed against President Donald Trump, with the House voting 232-148 on Tuesday, Sept. 15, to not proceed with the impeachment.
Still awaiting a vote, however, are articles of impeachment against Sec. of War Pete Hegseth.
The vote on the articles of impeachment against Hegseth was expected to occur on Thursday, Sept. 17, but House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, opted to send lawmakers home on Sept. 16 for a seven-week recess to focus on the upcoming midterm election, CNN reported.
From the start, the vote to impeach Trump was expected to fail, but the articles of impeachment against Hegseth — which were submitted by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY, on Tuesday, Sept. 15 — were not only a surprise for lawmakers, but potentially presented an obstacle for Republicans who are seeking to maintain their majorities in the House and Senate.
Speaking with CNN, Johnson described Massie’s filing of the articles of impeachment against Hegseth as “a publicity stunt by someone who wants attention,” adding:
“It will immediately be tabled of course. But we probably won’t do that today, we will do it when we come back. We should not be playing games with national security.”
Responding to this, Massie wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “And there it is. Just as I predicted. They’re canceling Congress tomorrow to avoid the vote on IMPEACHING [Hegseth].”
Shortly before Johnson called for the early recess, Massie posted on X, writing, “It’s telling that neither President Trump nor the brigade of paid MAGA grifters are coming to the defense of [Hegseth] against the Articles of Impeachment I offered yesterday.”
In his post, Massie noted that the day after the 2006 midterm elections, President George W. Bush fired Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld amid the unpopular Iraq War.
See Massie’s post, here:
George W. Bush fired SecDef Rumsfeld the day after the 2006 midterms due to the unpopular war in Iraq.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) September 16, 2026
It’s telling that neither President Trump nor the brigade of paid MAGA grifters are coming to the defense of @SecWar against the Articles of Impeachment I offered yesterday.
Both filings of the articles of impeachment come as the Trump administration has been facing scrutiny for allegedly overstepping in its authority on a range of subjects, including immigration enforcement and the ongoing military conflict in Iran.
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About The Articles Of Impeachment Against Hegseth
On Sept. 15, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY — whose term as a Republican representative of Kentucky will be concluding in early January after losing his reelection primary — filed articles of impeachment against Sec. of War. Pete Hegseth.
Speaking for over an hour on the floor of the House of Representatives, Massie argued that Hegseth should be impeached on a few key points.
Charging Hegseth with high crimes and misdemeanors, Massie looked to the continued military action against Iran without Congressional authorization, as well as the bombings of suspected cartel boats in the Caribbean Sea.
Massie argues that Hegseth is “in violation of his oath” to defend the Constitution, powerfully alleging on the subject of the bombing of suspected cartel boats:
“Sec. Hegseth arrogated to himself and the Executive Branch the roles of judge, jury, and executioner and asserted a unilateral power to determine who may live and who may die.”
He added, “Such a power is foreign to the rule of law, repugnant to the legal traditions and fundamental values of the United States and the Western world, and contrary to United States law and customary international law.”
Massie’s argument stems from concerns that have been brought up by some lawmakers over the past year as the identities of individuals aboard suspected cartel boats have on several occasions not been known.
In total, Massie has presented Congress with eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth, with charges including:
- Article I – Waging War in violation of the War Powers Resolution of 1973: Citing Section 2(c) of the War Powers Resolution of 1973, Massie charges Hegseth with illegally waging war against Iran without a Congressional declaration of war, arguing there was no immediate threat or direct attack against the United States to incite the conflict;
- Article II – Waging War in Contravention of the War Powers Resolution of 1973 Section 5(c): Citing Section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution of 1973, Massie charges Hegseth with disregarding the concurrent resolution approved in June by both the House and the Senate to limit the Trump administration’s war powers;
- Article III – Waging War in Contravention of the War Powers Resolution of 1973 Section 5(b): Citing section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution of 1973, Massie charges Hegseth with “continuing hostilities in Iran after expiration of the War Powers Resolution’s 60-day termination period and any potential 30-day withdrawal period;”
- Article IV – Ignoring Laws that Minimize Civilian Casualties: Here, Hegseth is charged with “ignoring laws that minimize civilian casualties;”
- Article V – Extrajudicial Killings: Here, Hegseth is charged with “replacing maritime law enforcement with unauthorized lethal military targeting of suspected drug traffickers, resulting in at least 221 deaths.” This article, which is largely focused on action taken against suspected cartel members, also looks to alleged “denial of quarter, secondary strikes on survivors, failure to rescue shipwrecked persons,” and more;
- Article VI – Suppressing Free Speech: In this article, Hegseth is charged “with using [Department of War] authority to retaliate against and intimidate Senator Mark Kelly for constitutionally protected speech questioning unlawful military orders;”
- Article VII – Kidnapping of a Sovereign Foreign Leader: Here, the actions taken by Hegseth in Operation Absolute Resolve against Venezuela on Jan. 3 are taken to task, with Hegseth charged with kidnapping President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, without constitutional or legal authority; and
- Article VIII – Unlawful War in Yemen: Lastly, Hegseth is charged with violating war powers through the initiating of Operation Rough Rider against the Houthis in Yemen in the spring of 2025.
Presently, it is not clear if Massie’s articles of impeachment will gain support from fellow Republicans, but it should be noted that Hegseth campaigned against Massie in Kentucky.
A vote was expected on the articles of impeachment against Hegseth by Thursday, Sept. 17, but House Speaker Mike Johnson sent lawmakers home for a seven-week recess to focus on the midterm election.
The midterm election is Nov. 3.
Upon returning, Johnson told CNN that Massie’s articles of impeachment against Hegseth will likely be considered then.
If approved by a simple majority in the House, the articles of impeachment would then need to be passed by the United States Senate to lead to Hegseth being officially impeached.
View the full articles of impeachment against Hegseth, here.
Watch Massie read the articles of impeachment against Hegseth, here:
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About The Articles Of Impeachment Against Trump
Like the articles of impeachment filed against Sec. of War Pete Hegseth by outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY, the articles of impeachment filed against President Donald Trump were filed by a representative whose term in office is nearing its end.
Filed by Rep. Al Green, D-TX, on Aug. 24, the House of Representatives voted against impeaching Trump on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
Green, who is one of the most vocal opponents of Trump in Congress, has filed articles of impeachment against Trump on several occasions, with three issued during Trump’s first term and three during Trump’s second term.
In his latest effort, Green was looking to impeach Trump for alleged “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Green’s argument against Trump looked to perceived abuses of power in regard to force used against United States citizens and unlawful residents by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol, and the deployment of the National Guard.
In his letter to Trump giving notice of the filed articles of impeachment, Green summarized them as such:
“These articles of impeachment are about life and death. More explicitly, it’s about the lives of Renée Good, Alex Pretti, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, and others who have died under your leadership without justice. It’s about a cover-up you are condoning and participating in.”
The killing of these individuals has attracted national scrutiny, with protests and other demonstrations — most notably in the No Kings protests.
Green’s articles of impeachment against Trump failed on Sept. 15, with 18 Democrats joining 213 Republicans in a 232-148 vote to table Green’s articles of impeachment against the president.
Notably, Trump was impeached twice by the House of Representatives during his first term, with the second impeachment (following the events of Jan. 6, 2021) leading to Trump being acquitted by the Senate.
Read the full articles of impeachment against Trump, here.
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