Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, started the clock on a Hegseth impeachment vote on Monday afternoon. The House now has until Wednesday to act. His resolution charges Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with high crimes and misdemeanors in eight articles, four of them about the Iran war.
The vote falls to the Republican House elected in 2024, not the Democratic majority that arrives on Jan. 3. Speaker Mike Johnson’s team can try to kill the resolution with a motion to table. By the Clerk’s seat count, three Republican defections would be enough to stop that.
Hegseth would be only the third Cabinet secretary ever impeached, CBS News noted, after William Belknap in 1876 and Alejandro Mayorkas in 2024.
Massie’s floor notice started a two-day clock
The House Clerk’s floor log records the moment, at 2:04 p.m. on Monday. Massie “notified the House of his intent to offer a privileged resolution pursuant to clause 2(a)(1) of rule IX,” it says.
That rule is printed in the House Rules and Manual. A rank-and-file member’s resolution gets priority at a time the Speaker picks. That time must fall “within two legislative days after the day on which the proponent announces” it. So Johnson chooses the hour, but he cannot let the deadline pass.
Fox News and ABC News both reported that the vote must come by Wednesday. The Majority Leader’s schedule has the House meeting at noon on Tuesday and on Wednesday.
This is Massie’s second attempt. He first forced the issue on Sept. 15, and Johnson then canceled the last day of business before the midterms, ABC reported.
Johnson called the push “a publicity stunt by someone who wants attention.” He said it would be tabled when members returned, CNN reported in a story carried by ABC7. He denied that the early recess had anything to do with Hegseth.
Massie lost his primary to the Trump-backed Ed Gallrein. He is serving his final months in the House, MS NOW reported.
What the eight articles allege
We read the 34-page text that Massie posted on his House website. Its resolution number is left blank, and the Clerk’s log showed no number by Monday afternoon. Each item below is a claim the resolution makes, not an established finding.
- Starting the Iran war. Hostilities began Feb. 28, 2026, it says. It argues there was no declaration of war, statutory authorization or attack on the United States.
- Defying Congress. The House and Senate adopted H. Con. Res. 86 on June 3 and June 23, directing withdrawal. It says Hegseth kept forces fighting anyway.
- Missing the 60-day limit. It says the war-powers deadline ran out on May 1. Even a 30-day extension would have ended June 1, it argues.
- Civilian-harm safeguards. It links Pentagon cuts to civilian-casualty programs with a strike on a school in Minab, Iran. It says at least 156 civilians died there.
- Drug-boat strikes. It calls the strikes “extrajudicial killings.” It counts at least 73 vessels hit and 243 people killed.
- Sen. Mark Kelly. It says Hegseth retaliated against the Arizona Democrat for urging troops to refuse illegal orders. That includes a censure letter dated Jan. 5, 2026.
- The Maduro raid. It says the Jan. 3, 2026, raid that seized Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores lacked legal authority. It puts the death toll at 83 or more.
- Yemen. It says Operation Rough Rider ran from March 15 to May 6, 2025, without authorization. It estimates 224 civilian deaths.
Massie gave his case in a Monday statement. “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,” he said. He called his effort “a much gentler version of what’s coming” under Democrats.
Hegseth calls the articles a sham
Hegseth has dismissed the charges. In a video on X last week, he called them “sham articles of impeachment against yours truly.” He added, “Didn’t work against President Trump, and it won’t work with me,” CBS reported. On Monday he told reporters, “We’re not worried about that.”
He has called a news conference for Tuesday morning at the Pentagon. It is his first in more than 180 days, according to AP reporting carried by PBS NewsHour. A source told MS NOW that his advisers argue he “carried out the lawful and well informed decision by the president.” Trump said after the election, “I think he’s doing a fantastic job.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday he is a “hard yes.” Some Republicans are still undecided. Rep. French Hill of Arkansas told CBS he is weighing impeachment “versus some other disciplinary action.” Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska told ABC, “I will weigh the debate and make a decision.”
Three votes decide it in the current House
The Clerk’s current count is 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats and one independent, Kevin Kiley of California. Two seats are vacant. That leaves 433 voting members, and with all of them present a majority is 217.
If all 214 Democrats vote together, they need three more votes. Massie supplies one. ABC’s reporting reached the same number. Two would not be enough, because a tied vote fails in the House.
Attendance shifts the line, because a majority counts only members voting. Fox News reported that absences among Republicans who lost their races could tip the result.
How a privileged impeachment resolution moves this week
The first test is likely a motion to table, which needs the same simple majority. Tabling disposes of a resolution “permanently and adversely,” the Congressional Research Service says. Leaders could instead move to send it to the Judiciary Committee. CRS adds that the modern House “has not chosen to approve articles of impeachment called up in this fashion.” Our explainer on impeachment math covers the Senate side.
| When | Step | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Mon, Nov. 9, 2:04 p.m. | Massie gives notice under Rule IX, clause 2(a)(1) | House Clerk |
| Tue, Nov. 10, morning | Hegseth holds a Pentagon news conference | AP via PBS |
| By Wed, Nov. 11 | Speaker must schedule it within two legislative days | House rules; Fox, ABC |
| On the floor | Motion to table or refer, by simple majority | CRS R45769 |
| If not tabled | Up to one hour of debate, split between Massie and a leader or designee, then a vote | House rules; CRS |
| If adopted | Articles go to the Senate, where removal needs two-thirds | CRS R45769 |
| Jan. 3, 2027 | The new Democratic-led Congress is sworn in | 20th Amendment |
A House win for Massie would not mean removal. The Senate dismissed the charges against Mayorkas in 2024, CBS noted. Hegseth’s team does not expect a trial before this Congress ends, MS NOW reported. It expects Democrats to try again next year.
Johnson will not lead Republicans in the minority, as our story on the race to succeed him explains. He still runs this week’s floor. The next fixed point is Hegseth’s Tuesday news conference, and the vote has to follow by Wednesday.
