Inside the Eight Articles of Massie's Impeachment Resolution Against Defense Secretary Hegseth

On Monday, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky introduced a 34-page resolution in the House to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. It runs to eight articles and accuses the Pentagon chief of high crimes and misdemeanors tied to some of the most contested episodes of President Trump's second term. The House voted to refer the resolution to a committee, which effectively ends it. No Republicans joined Massie and the House Democrats in opposing that move. At a press conference Tuesday morning, Hegseth dismissed the resolution.

The first three articles concern the war with Iran. Article I says Hegseth knowingly carried out an order to begin hostilities against Iran even though Congress had neither declared war nor authorized an attack. It argues the action fell outside the narrow circumstances in which the War Powers Resolution lets a president use force without congressional approval. Article II says Hegseth ignored a measure passed by both the House and Senate directing the administration to remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran. Massie's text calls it the first time both chambers had passed such a measure under the War Powers Resolution. It alleges Hegseth continued directing forces into hostilities on June 26, 2026, and still does. The administration had argued that hostilities with Iran were already over, so the measure did not apply.

Article III turns to the clock built into the War Powers Resolution: 60 days to end the use of force absent congressional approval, plus 30 days to withdraw safely. Mr. Trump notified Congress of the hostilities on March 2, so the 60 days ran out on May 1. That day, the administration wrote that hostilities had "terminated." Hegseth told senators that in a ceasefire, in the administration's understanding, the 60-day clock pauses or stops. The article answers that he kept directing hostilities past that deadline and past June 1, when even the maximum extra 30 days would have expired. It also says the fighting was aimed at additional objectives Congress never authorized.

Article IV ties Hegseth to a strike on an Iranian school during the first wave of attacks in February. Iranian media have reported that a Tomahawk missile killed many people there, most of them children. The U.S. has not directly accepted responsibility. The article cites Hegseth's cuts to staff devoted to reducing civilian casualties, his removal of the military's top lawyers, and his public remarks about "stupid rules of engagement." It argues these dismantled safeguards Congress required by law, and that the school strike was not an isolated targeting error.

Article V addresses the campaign against alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, which the resolution says has killed at least 243 people since September 2025. It accuses Hegseth of making himself "judge, jury, and executioner" by using lethal force on people merely suspected of crimes. It cites the first strike, on Sept. 2, 2025, which destroyed and capsized a vessel. About 45 minutes later, with two survivors clinging to the wreckage, a second strike was ordered and killed them both. Article VI accuses Hegseth of retaliating against Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a retired Navy captain. In November 2025, Kelly joined other lawmakers in a message to service members that the laws are clear and that they can refuse illegal orders. Hegseth issued a letter of censure and threatened to reduce Kelly's rank, which would have cut his retirement benefits. A federal judge blocked the move.

Article VII covers the January 2026 capture of Venezuela's Maduro and his wife in Caracas. The resolution calls it an act of war disguised as drug law enforcement and says its real aim was control of Venezuelan oil. It says the operation used more than 200 special operations personnel and more than 150 aircraft and drones, and killed at least 83 people. It quotes Mr. Trump saying after the raid, "we're going to run the country," and that oil companies would "go in… and start making money." Article VIII addresses strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen between March and May 2025. It says civilian deaths in under eight weeks nearly matched those caused by U.S. action there over the previous 23 years, and it cites a Signal group chat, published by The Atlantic, as evidence the administration knew the Houthis posed no imminent threat.

With no Republican support, the resolution is dead for now. The articles remain a detailed record of the charges that critics of the administration's war powers claims may return to.