Republican Congressman Thomas Massie proposed impeaching Pete Hegseth on September 15, 2026. The very next day, House Speaker Mike Johnson adjourned the House until after the November election. Massie accused Johnson of adjourning a day early to be sure his resolution of impeachment would be ignored. He said he would bring it up again during the lame-duck session. Massie won’t be a member of Congress in the next term. Trump helped to oust him because Massie demanded the full release of the Epstein files.

If Massie’s proposal fails, the Democratic majority should hold impeachment hearings. Hegseth has been a destructive force as Secretary of Defense, which he insisted be changed to Secretary of War.

Here are Massie’s proposed Articles of Impeachment:

Waging war against Iran without congressional authorization.

Disregarding laws intended to protect civilians in wartime.

Ordering unlawful killings of suspected drug traffickers at sea.

Retaliating against Senator Mark Kelly for constitutionally protected speech.

Participating in the unauthorized capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Conducting an unlawful bombing campaign in Yemen.

That’s a beginning. Hegseth should also be impeached for firing highly qualified generals and admirals without cause and thus harming the military’s leadership and readiness.

Hegseth should be impeached for denying promotions to well-qualified officers who had been recommended by review panels. A disproportionate number of those denied promotion were women or Blacks. Hegseth seems to assume that only straight white men like himself are fit to lead.

The fact is that Hegseth had no qualifications to lead the Departnent of Defense, which has a bigger budget and more personnel than any other Department. He had no managerial experience. His highest military rank was Major in the U.S. National Guard. He seemed to love humiliating generals and admirals and anyone with higher rank.

Remember when he called all the highest-ranking military leaders in the world to a meeting where he lectured them about manliness and told them that he would not tolerate military people who were overweight or had facial hair? How demeaning to his audience! They listened in stony silence.

Hegseth led a crusade against transgender members of the military and pushed them out even if they had exemplary service records and had the approval of their leaders and colleagues. Thousands of service members were expelled or left voluntarily to satisfy his contempt for them.

Hegseth is best at leading culture wars, not actual wars.

He should be impeached and removed.

His successor, of course, would have to be approved by the Democratic-led Senate so Trump would be compelled to find a better candidate.