Democrats in Congress are bringing articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth over a slew of scandals that have all but engulfed his tenure as defense secretary.
A seven-page resolution, first obtained by Axios, lays out no less than five articles against the Pentagon chief relating to everything from alleged war crimes and abuse of power to the legality of U.S. strikes against Iran and the Signalgate scandal.
The outlet notes that while the measures have “virtually no chance of passing” in the Republican-controlled House, it shows “Democrats have coalesced around Hegseth as their new top target” following the shock ouster of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi over the past few weeks.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona is introducing the resolution Wednesday, with eight other House Democrats, including Jasmine Crockett and Shri Thanedar, co-sponsoring the move with the backing of progressive and anti-war groups like MoveOn and the Center for International Policy.
The paper’s first article pertains to “unauthorized war against Iran and reckless endangerment of United States service members,” specifically Trump’s launch of air strikes without having first sought congressional approval and Hegseth’s role in that move.
The second accuses Hegseth of “violations of the law of armed conflict and targeting of civilians” for having allegedly “authorized, condoned, or failed to prevent” military attacks that have resulted “large numbers of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Iran.”
It makes particular note of a U.S. Tomahawk missile strike that killed dozens of young children at an Iranian school, as well as Hegseth’s alleged “Kill them all” directive for airstrikes on alleged narcotrafficking vessels in the Caribbean.
Signalgate, the messaging app scandal that saw Hegseth share sensitive details of military strikes with a group chat to which a journalist had been inadvertently added, also makes an appearance.
The resolution’s third article accuses the Defense Secretary of “negligence and reckless handling of sensitive military information” in the context of that controversy, which it says “placed United States personnel at risk through this careless and improper conduct.”
Related to the first and second article, a fourth also alleges that Hegseth has engaged in “obstruction of congressional oversight” by failing to “provide timely and complete information regarding military operations” to the House, including by “withholding material facts relating to civilian casualties and operational conduct in Iran, Venezuela and other military theatres.”
A fifth and final article further blasts the defense secretary for “conduct bringing disrepute upon the United States and its armed forces,” specifically in reference to the Trump administration’s rollback of DEI policies in the military and the president’s repeated rhetorical attacks on NATO, from which he has lately threatened to withdraw.
Again, the resolution stands no hope of passing the Republican-controlled House at this time. The timing of its introduction, coming amid the president’s new war in the Middle East, raises the prospect that Democrats may be laying the ground for a more concerted push should they wrest control of Congress come midterms in November.
The Daily Beast has contacted the Defense Department for comment. In comments to Axios, Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson dismissed the resolution as little more than a political stunt.
“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,” she said.
