By Sarah Jay · Updated November 10, 2026 · Compiled from reporting by CBS News, ABC News, Axios, FOX 9 and The Week, cross-checked against each other. Nothing here is sponsored.
The House is expected to vote by Wednesday, November 11, on whether to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, filed eight articles of impeachment on Monday as a privileged resolution, which forces House leaders to act within two legislative days. Impeachment needs only a simple majority. Removal is a different story.
Here’s what the articles actually say, how the vote could go, and why the Senate is where this likely stalls.
What happened on Monday
Massie stood on the House floor on November 9 and read all eight articles aloud. ABC News timed it at roughly an hour and 20 minutes. The resolution runs 34 pages, according to CBS News, and accuses Hegseth of “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
This isn’t Massie’s first try. He filed a version in mid-September. Speaker Mike Johnson then canceled the last scheduled legislative day before the midterms, which pushed any vote past Election Day. Massie had to refile updated articles on Monday to restart the clock.
The timing matters. Democrats won majorities in both the House and the Senate on November 3, but they don’t take control until January. So this vote falls to the current, Republican-led House.
The eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth, in plain English
Most of the charges center on the war with Iran. Based on summaries published by FOX 9, CBS News and NPR, the articles allege that Hegseth:
- Started hostilities against Iran without a declaration of war or authorization from Congress, in violation of the 1973 War Powers Resolution.
- Kept fighting after Congress voted to direct US forces to withdraw, and past the War Powers Resolution’s 60-day limit and its possible 30-day extension.
- Ignored legal requirements to limit civilian harm. The articles cite a strike on an Iranian elementary school that they say killed more than 200 civilians, many of them children.
- Oversaw strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. The articles call these extrajudicial killings and put the death toll at 243.
- Retaliated against Sen. Mark Kelly over a video in which Kelly and other lawmakers urged troops to refuse illegal orders.
- Carried out what the articles describe as unlawful orders in the operation that captured Venezuela’s then-president, Nicolás Maduro.
- Violated the War Powers Resolution again with a US attack in Yemen, referred to as Operation Rough Rider.
That’s seven descriptions for eight articles. Three of the eight deal with the Iran war’s legality, which accounts for the gap, though the outlets I reviewed didn’t all number them the same way. One caution: the casualty figures above come from the impeachment resolution itself. They’re allegations in a charging document, not independently confirmed tallies.
Massie summed up his case bluntly. The question, he wrote, is whether Hegseth committed impeachable acts, “and the answer is yes, eight times.”
How the House vote works this week
Because the resolution is privileged, Republican leaders can’t simply ignore it. They have three choices, as MS NOW and ABC News laid out:
- Allow a direct up-or-down vote on impeachment.
- Move to table the resolution, which kills it without a vote on the merits.
- Vote to refer it to a committee, where it would likely sit.
Each option needs a simple majority. That’s the whole fight.
The House is split 218 Republicans to 214 Democrats, according to CNBC and The Week. If every Democrat votes yes, and Jeffries has said he’s a “hard yes,” then three Republican defections would be enough to impeach, ABC News reported. The same math applies to a motion to table. A handful of Republicans voting no on tabling would keep the resolution alive.
Massie told ABC he’s confident enough Republicans will cross over. Axios reported that GOP leaders are bracing for defections, partly because members who lost their seats last week have less to lose.
Where Republicans stand
No House Republican besides Massie has publicly committed to voting yes, based on the reporting I reviewed. But several aren’t defending Hegseth either.
Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a retired Air Force general who isn’t running again, said he’ll “weigh the debate” and that Hegseth “has made some bad mistakes.” Oversight Committee chair James Comer declined to back impeachment, though he told CBS there are “a lot of questions” about Hegseth and that “no one’s happy about Iran.” Rep. French Hill of Arkansas said he’s still thinking it over, adding that not doing a good job doesn’t by itself mean someone committed an impeachable offense.
Speaker Johnson is firmly opposed. He has called the effort a “terrible, terrible look” during active military operations and said cabinet secretaries shouldn’t be impeached for “cheap tricks.”
What Hegseth and Trump are saying
Hegseth has dismissed the effort as “sham articles of impeachment” pushed by “a disgruntled, defeated congressman.” Massie lost his Republican primary in May to Ed Gallrein, a Trump-endorsed candidate Hegseth campaigned for. In a video posted last week, Hegseth said impeachment “didn’t work against President Trump, and it won’t work with me.” On Monday he told reporters, “We’re not worried about that,” and he’s scheduled to hold a Pentagon news conference on Tuesday.
President Trump has stood by him. At the White House on Monday, Trump said he would “stand by” Hegseth even if the House impeaches him, crediting him with winning “two wars.” Trump has also said he has “every intention” of keeping Hegseth in the job.
The Pentagon’s broader line, from press secretary Kingsley Wilson, is that the department is better off under Hegseth’s leadership by “every measurable metric.”
Could Hegseth actually be removed?
Probably not. At least not soon.
Impeachment in the House is only an accusation. Removal requires a trial in the Senate and a two-thirds vote to convict, which means 67 senators. Republicans control the Senate until January, and even after Democrats take over, they won’t come close to 67 without significant Republican support. NPR and Axios both described conviction as a long shot.
There’s also a procedural wrinkle. If the House impeaches, the articles go to a Republican-led Senate, which would have a narrow window to hold a trial or move to dismiss before the new Congress is sworn in, The American Conservative noted. How that plays out isn’t clear yet.
Why this vote matters anyway
History, for one. If the House votes to impeach, Hegseth would be only the third cabinet secretary ever impeached. The first was Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876, over corruption; the Senate acquitted him. The second was Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in 2024, whose charges the Senate dismissed.
But the bigger story, I think, is what the vote reveals. A Republican-controlled House voting on whether to impeach a Republican president’s defense secretary is a direct test of how much the Iran war has cost the party politically. Several Republicans have blamed the war for their midterm losses, according to ABC News. A successful tabling motion would show leadership still holds the conference together. A failed one would show the opposite.
And it’s a preview. Democrats take the House in January with subpoena power. Massie has argued that dealing with impeachment now is cleaner than leaving it for the next Congress. Democrats have already promised their own investigations into Hegseth’s tenure, regardless of how Wednesday goes.
Massie has offered one way out. He said he won’t reintroduce the articles if Hegseth resigns. Hegseth has given no sign he plans to.
FAQ
When is the Hegseth impeachment vote?
The House must act on Massie’s privileged resolution within two legislative days of its Monday, November 9 filing. Multiple outlets, including ABC News and The American Conservative, report that a vote could come as early as Wednesday, November 11. The first vote may be procedural, on a motion to table, rather than on impeachment itself.
Who filed the articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth?
Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, filed all eight articles. He lost his May primary to a Trump-backed challenger and leaves Congress in January. Democrats filed separate articles against Hegseth in April, but those never reached a vote.
How many votes does it take to impeach Hegseth?
A simple majority of House members voting. With the chamber at 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats, ABC News reported that three Republican votes alongside every Democrat would be enough. Attendance can change that math.
If he’s impeached, does Hegseth lose his job?
No. Impeachment is a formal charge. Hegseth would stay in office unless two-thirds of the Senate votes to convict him after a trial, a threshold most analysts consider unlikely to be reached.
Has a cabinet secretary been impeached before?
Twice. Secretary of War William Belknap was impeached in 1876 and acquitted by the Senate. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was impeached in 2024, and the Senate dismissed the charges.
This story is developing. We’ll update it after the House vote. Related coverage: 2026 midterm election results and what comes next and Abdul El-Sayed’s Michigan Senate win.
Sources and Editorial Notes
Elivestory aims to use relevant sources, separate confirmed information from speculation and update important details when reliable new information becomes available.
Sarah Jay
Sarah Jay is a journalist, fact-checker, and writer who creates well-researched articles using information from credible and trusted sources. She combines verified facts with thoughtful analysis, offering readers clear, balanced, and insightful perspectives on the topics she covers.
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