House Democrats Move to Impeach Defense Secretary Hegseth

Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing him of abuse of power and war crimes, among other allegations. 

The six articles of impeachment, which have almost no chance of passing due to Republicans’ slim majority in the House, were first reported by Axios. 

The resolution is led by Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, the first Iranian-American Democrat elected to Congress. The eight Democratic co-sponsors of the bill include Reps. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Nikema Williams of Georgia, Dina Titus of Nevada, David Min of California, Shri Thanedar of Michigan, Brittany Pettersen of Colorado, and Sarah McBride of Delaware. 

Ansari last week accused Trump of “escalating a devastating, illegal war, threatening massive war crimes and targeting civilian infrastructure in Iran” and said she would be introducing impeachment articles against Hegseth. 

In response to the resolution, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told TIME that “Secretary Hegseth is doing an outstanding job leading the Pentagon – as evidenced by the unprecedented military success of Operation Epic Fury. This is a totally unserious act by backbencher Democrats who are desperate for headlines, and no media outlet should grant them the attention they obviously crave.”

The Defense Department has also disparaged the resolution, with Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson describing the effort in a statement to news outlets as "just another Democrat trying to make headlines as the Department of War decisively and overwhelmingly achieved the Presidents' objectives in Iran."

“Secretary Hegseth will continue to protect the homeland and project peace through strength,” Wilson said. “This is just another charade in an attempt to distract the American people from the major successes we have had here at the Department of War.”

The first article of impeachment in the resolution accuses Hegseth of violating his oath of office and his constitutional duty over his role in the "unauthorized war against Iran and reckless endangerment of United States service members.” The article cites Hegseth’s participation in launching hostilities against Iran without congressional approval and facilitating operations that posed “extreme and unnecessary” risk to U.S. forces and interests, including “potential ground operations.”

The second article alleges Hegseth further violated his oath and constitutional duties by engaging in “violations of the law of armed conflict and targeting of civilians.” It points to the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Iran, including a school for girls in Minab, and what it describes as the “illegal ‘double tap’” strikes on boats in the Caribbean that were allegedly transporting drugs to the U.S., as well as Hegseth’s comment last month that the U.S. would have “no quarter, no mercy for our enemies.” 

The resolution then goes on to allege in the third article that Hegseth "has demonstrated gross negligence in the handling of sensitive and classified military information.” It cites as an example the use of the messaging app Signal to communicate sensitive information related to operations, which became the subject of a scandal last year after the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic reported that he was added to a private Signal chat in which Hegseth and other officials discussed upcoming military strikes in Yemen. 

The fourth article outlines accusations that Hegseth engaged in “efforts to obstruct the constitutional oversight responsibilities of Congress” by not providing details on military operations and withholding facts on civilian casualties, among other things. 

In the fifth article, lawmakers allege that Hegseth abused his power as Defense Secretary by “using his position to influence military decisions for improper political purposes,” “intervening in military disciplinary or personnel matters in a manner inconsistent with established law and practice,” and “undermining the principle of a nonpartisan and professional Armed Forces.”

It points to what it calls “bogus investigations” against elected officials, an apparent reference to the Defense Department’s inquiry into Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona over his participation in a video urging U.S. troops to refuse unlawful orders.

Finally, in the sixth article, the lawmakers accuse Hegseth of “conduct bringing disrepute upon the U.S. and its armed forces,” alleging among other things that as a result of the actions described throughout the resolution he has “shaken public confidence in the integrity and ability” of the Defense Department.

The article cites as an example Hegseth “undermining” the U.S.’s commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which Trump has repeatedly threatened to leave, most recently in response to European allies’ resistance to getting involved in the war against Iran. Hegseth has joined Trump in criticizing the country’s allies in Europe amid the conflict, calling them “ungrateful,” and last month declined to affirm the U.S.’s commitment to the alliance’s collective defense obligations when asked by reporters, saying that “as far ​as NATO is concerned, that's a decision that will be left to the president.”

A number of Democratic lawmakers have also called for Trump to be removed from office amid the Iran war, whether through impeachment or via the 25th Amendment. But party leaders are showing little appetite for pursuing either ahead of this year's midterm elections.