Republican Rep. Thomas Massie forces House vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
The gist
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie reintroduced eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, forcing a House vote.
The effort follows GOP midterm losses that some Republicans blame on the Iran war.
How it unfolded
- Sep 15, 2026Rep. Thomas Massie surprised colleagues by pushing to impeach Hegseth, reading a 34-page resolution with eight articles of impeachment on the House floor.
- Sep 16, 2026Republican leaders announced they would leave Washington a day earlier than scheduled, avoiding a Thursday impeachment vote until after the midterm election.
- Sep 17, 2026Hegseth avoided an impeachment vote after Speaker Mike Johnson called an early recess, canceling votes scheduled for Thursday.
Key terms
- articles of impeachment
- The process by which a legislature brings charges against an official for serious misconduct, possibly leading to removal after trial.
- GOP
- The Republican Party, one of the two major political parties in the United States.
- midterm
- US general elections held near the midpoint of a president's four-year term, when all House seats and about a third of Senate seats are contested.
Source: Wikipedia