by Nicole Silverio
Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie announced Tuesday he will force a vote to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Massie accused Hegseth of “operating in contravention of three specific provisions of the War Powers Resolution of 1973.” The articles of impeachment included eight charges, including waging war in contravention and ignoring laws that minimize civilian casualties.
“By engaging in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization, Secretary Hegseth is breaking the law and must be held accountable,” Massie said. “Secretary Hegseth’s constitutional violations extend beyond the illegal war in Iran. He is abusing the power of his office to ignore congressional war powers resolutions, to kidnap foreign leaders, and to intimidate critics of the Trump administration by retaliating against them for exercising free speech. If we are to remain true to our oath to ‘support and defend the Constitution of the United States,’ Congress must not turn a blind eye to Secretary Hegseth’s unconstitutional and illegal actions.”
A spokesperson for the Department of War praised Hegseth’s record in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Secretary Hegseth has been a transformative leader for the Department of War. Standards and merit are back, our arsenal is stronger than ever before, and morale and recruitment across every service are at all-time highs,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told the DCNF. “Secretary Hegseth has slashed bureaucracy, unleashed innovation, and delivered for our warfighters every step of the way. By every measurable metric, the Department of War is better under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s leadership than before. The entire Department is unified behind the Secretary’s vision and will continue working to put our warfighters and America first.”
Massie accused Hegseth of extrajudicial killings, stating he oversaw the killings of at least 221 individuals in international waters, and of suppressing free speech by allegedly intimidating Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly for calling on service members to “refuse illegal orders.” He alleged Hegseth waged an unlawful war in Yemen.
The resolution alleged that Hegseth “executed unlawful orders” through the U.S. involvement in the Iran war. Massie argued that Hegseth “directed and caused” U.S. Armed Forces to be involved in hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran without Congress’ approval or declaration of war against the regime.
“The introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran therefore satisfied none of the circumstances expressly identified in section 2(c) of the War Powers Resolution and was undertaken, from its inception, without congressional authorization or independent Article II authority, thereby rendering both the initial introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities, and all subsequent actions taken thereafter, unlawful,” the resolution stated. “Secretary Hegseth nevertheless knowingly executed and implemented the order to commence such hostilities, employing the powers, personnel, weapons, and resources of the Department of Defense to initiate military action against another sovereign nation, in violation of section 1541(c) of title 50, United States Code.”
Massie alleged Hegseth continued to direct the U.S. Armed Forces to engage in hostilities against Iran after the House and Senate passed a concurrent war powers resolution, which directed the president to remove the Armed Forces from “unauthorized hostilities.” The resolution was concurrent, meaning President Donald Trump’s administration had no legal obligation to comply with the directive since concurrent resolutions have no force of law.
The resolution alleged Hegseth would “remain a threat to the Constitution” if he remained in office.
Massie lost to his primary challenger, Republican Kentucky congressional nominee Ed Gallrein, in May after Trump campaigned against the incumbent.
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Nicole Silverio is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
