{
  "id": "hegseth-impeachment",
  "title": "Push to impeach Pete Hegseth",
  "category": "election",
  "countries": [
    {
      "iso3": "USA",
      "name": "United States"
    }
  ],
  "status": "On Nov 10 the House voted 211-204 to send Thomas Massie's impeachment articles against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee, shelving them for now. Democrats, who take control in January, are criticising the 11 members who missed the vote and discussing new articles.",
  "summary": [
    "Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger and leaves Congress in January, first tried to force an impeachment vote on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in September; Speaker Mike Johnson then sent the House home early for the campaign recess and no vote was held. After Democrats won both chambers in the Nov 3 midterms, Massie refiled on Nov 9 as a privileged resolution, which must be taken up within two legislative days. Its eight articles accuse Hegseth of waging the eight-month war with Iran in breach of the War Powers Resolution (three articles), ignoring laws meant to limit civilian casualties, citing a US missile strike on a girls' primary school in Minab that AP says killed up to 168 people, retaliating against Senator Mark Kelly over a video on unlawful orders, the seizure of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, an unlawful war in Yemen, and extrajudicial killings in strikes on alleged drug boats. Hegseth, President Trump and Vice President JD Vance rejected the charges, while Jeffries and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer backed impeachment. On Nov 10 the House voted 211-204 to refer the resolution to the Judiciary Committee instead of voting on the articles. Removal would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, and only two cabinet officials have ever been impeached."
  ],
  "why_it_matters": {
    "text": "Only two US cabinet officials have ever been impeached by the House and neither was removed by the Senate; Massie's resolution sought to make the sitting defense secretary the third.",
    "source_url": "https://www.inquirer.com/politics/impeach-hegseth-jeffries-hard-yes-massie-trump-iran-war-democrats-republicans-20261108.html"
  },
  "changed_recently": [
    {
      "text": "A day after the House voted 211-204 to refer Massie's articles to the Judiciary Committee, Democrats criticised the 11 colleagues who missed the vote. The motion that sank the effort passed by seven votes (The Guardian). Massie said he would not bring up another impeachment resolution (CBS News). Fox News reported that some lawmakers say Hegseth could face new articles over Ukraine military aid once Democrats control the House. In a Veterans Day speech, Trump praised Hegseth again and said the US did not start the war with Iran (The Guardian). BBC News noted that Democrats can try again next year. Le Monde described the attempt as a preview of fights to come.",
      "sources": []
    }
  ],
  "key_numbers": [
    {
      "label": "House vote to refer Massie's impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee",
      "value": "211-204, with Massie the only Republican opposed",
      "who_says": "House vote as reported by CBS News",
      "as_of": "2026-11-10",
      "source_url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/massie-hegseth-impeachment/"
    },
    {
      "label": "Articles of impeachment in Massie's 34-page resolution",
      "value": "8, three of them on War Powers Resolution violations over Iran",
      "who_says": "Breaking Defense, summarizing the resolution Massie introduced on Nov 9",
      "as_of": "2026-11-09",
      "source_url": "https://breakingdefense.com/2026/11/house-opts-to-stall-hegseth-impeachment-vote-sending-resolution-to-judiciary-committee/"
    },
    {
      "label": "Democrats who missed the referral vote",
      "value": "11",
      "who_says": "AFP",
      "as_of": "2026-11-10",
      "source_url": "https://france24.com/en/americas/20261110-live-pentagon-chief-pete-hegseth-calls-move-to-impeach-him-a-farce"
    }
  ],
  "expert_views": [
    {
      "name": "Nick LaLota",
      "role": "Republican congressman from New York",
      "view": "He said he does not believe Hegseth committed an impeachable offense and that impeachment has been watered down; he had voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.",
      "outlet": "Associated Press (via PBS NewsHour)",
      "url": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-house-expected-to-hold-preliminary-vote-on-hegseth-impeachment-as-gop-chooses-next-leader",
      "date": "2026-11-10"
    },
    {
      "name": "Don Bacon",
      "role": "Republican congressman from Nebraska",
      "view": "He said he is not a fan of Hegseth but does not agree with Massie's move to impeach him.",
      "outlet": "Fox News",
      "url": "https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-gop-leaders-block-massie-hegseth-impeachment-push",
      "date": "2026-11-10"
    },
    {
      "name": "Adam Smith",
      "role": "Democratic congressman expected to lead the House Armed Services Committee next year",
      "view": "He promised vigorous oversight of the Iran war and of what he called the erosion of the military's apolitical foundation.",
      "outlet": "Reuters (via Al-Monitor)",
      "url": "https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/11/hegseth-vows-keep-fighting-pentagon-defends-iran-war",
      "date": "2026-11-05"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": {
    "level": "high",
    "reason": "The 211-204 referral vote and Massie's lone Republican dissent are reported the same way by CBS News, NBC News, AP, AFP, Al Jazeera and Fox News. The eight articles are Massie's allegations, not findings, and the toll of the school strike they cite varies by source, from up to 168 killed (AP) to more than 200 killed or injured (the resolution, as summarized by Breaking Defense)."
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "outlet": "The Guardian",
      "outlet_country": "UK",
      "date": "2026-11-11",
      "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/11/democrats-hegseth-impeachment-vote"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "Fox News",
      "outlet_country": "US",
      "date": "2026-11-11",
      "url": "https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hegseth-could-face-new-impeachment-push-over-ukraine-aid-lawmakers-warn"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "The Guardian",
      "outlet_country": "UK",
      "date": "2026-11-11",
      "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/nov/11/donald-trump-pete-hegseth-impeachment-democrats-republicans-arlington-latest-news-updates"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "Al-Monitor (Reuters)",
      "outlet_country": "US",
      "date": "2026-11-05",
      "url": "https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/11/hegseth-vows-keep-fighting-pentagon-defends-iran-war"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "The Philadelphia Inquirer (The New York Times)",
      "outlet_country": "US",
      "date": "2026-11-08",
      "url": "https://www.inquirer.com/politics/impeach-hegseth-jeffries-hard-yes-massie-trump-iran-war-democrats-republicans-20261108.html"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "Associated Press (via PBS NewsHour)",
      "outlet_country": "US",
      "date": "2026-11-10",
      "url": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-house-expected-to-hold-preliminary-vote-on-hegseth-impeachment-as-gop-chooses-next-leader"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "Breaking Defense",
      "outlet_country": "US",
      "date": "2026-11-10",
      "url": "https://breakingdefense.com/2026/11/house-opts-to-stall-hegseth-impeachment-vote-sending-resolution-to-judiciary-committee/"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "CBS News",
      "outlet_country": "US",
      "date": "2026-11-10",
      "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/massie-hegseth-impeachment/"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "NBC News",
      "outlet_country": "US",
      "date": "2026-11-10",
      "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/live-blog/hegseth-massie-impeachment-2026-election-congress-ukraine-live-updates-rcna608406"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "Fox News",
      "outlet_country": "US",
      "date": "2026-11-10",
      "url": "https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-gop-leaders-block-massie-hegseth-impeachment-push"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
      "outlet_country": "Qatar",
      "date": "2026-11-10",
      "url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/10/us-house-begins-vote-on-motion-to-advance-impeachment-of-pete-hegseth"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "France 24 (AFP)",
      "outlet_country": "France",
      "date": "2026-11-10",
      "url": "https://france24.com/en/americas/20261110-live-pentagon-chief-pete-hegseth-calls-move-to-impeach-him-a-farce"
    }
  ],
  "updated": "2026-11-11",
  "page": "https://verorbis.com/e/hegseth-impeachment/",
  "interactive": "https://verorbis.com/#e-hegseth-impeachment",
  "license": {
    "text": "Summaries and curation: CC BY 4.0. Cite \"Verorbis\" and link to https://verorbis.com/e/hegseth-impeachment/.",
    "third_party": "Numbers from third parties keep their own licenses and credit lines.",
    "credits": [
      "UCDP Candidate Events Dataset (CC BY 4.0), Uppsala Conflict Data Program",
      "UNHCR Refugee Population Statistics Database (CC BY 4.0)",
      "World Bank World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)",
      "V-Dem via Our World in Data (CC BY-SA 4.0)",
      "Harvard Growth Lab, Atlas of Economic Complexity (CC0)",
      "GDELT Project",
      "U.S. Energy Information Administration and Federal Reserve, via FRED",
      "European Central Bank reference rates; US Treasury daily par yield curve; Federal Reserve Bank of New York (EFFR)"
    ]
  }
}