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House poised to impeach Pete Hegseth after GOP midterm defeat

A Republican lawmaker moved Monday to impeach US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the war in Iran, setting up a potentially explosive vote in Congress days after President Donald Trump's party suffered a crushing midterm defeat.

✦ Extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting•From 6 sources•1 min read•Updated November 10, 2026, 1:38 AM UTC
Key points
  • The effort will likely fail, but Representative Thomas Massie wants to push Trump to fire Hegseth before Democrats can launch their own impeachment process next year.
  • Outgoing Republican lawmaker Thomas Massie calls on Congress to oust Hegseth over accusations of unlawful orders.
  • Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, set in motion a vote that must occur by Wednesday.

Why it matters: The coming vote could mark the first impeachment of a Cabinet secretary during the second Trump administration and signal what's to come when Democrats take control of Congress next year.

Additional details
  • The articles accuse Hegseth of "high crimes and misdemeanors," including for waging war against Iran in violation of the War Powers Resolution.
  • If the House approves the charges, it will prompt a Senate trial.
  • Kentucky congressman Thomas Massie moved on Monday to force a vote in the House of Representatives to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, putting pressure on his fellow Republicans to decide whether to remove one of the Trump administration’s most prominent figures following the party's crushing defeat in midterm elections.
  • Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday over his handling of the Iran war and other alleged misconduct.
  • House Republican leaders are bracing for enough GOP defections to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth when the measure comes to a vote this week.

How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →

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Every article behind this summary — 8 articles from 6 outlets

BBC WorldNovember 10, 2026, 1:38 AM UTC → Al JazeeraNovember 9, 2026, 11:53 PM UTC → France 24November 9, 2026, 10:51 PM UTC → NYT PoliticsNovember 9, 2026, 10:35 PM UTC → AxiosNovember 9, 2026, 9:39 PM UTC → NPR NewsNovember 9, 2026, 8:52 PM UTC → France 24November 9, 2026, 7:32 PM UTC → AxiosNovember 8, 2026, 12:45 PM UTC →

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