Massie is scheduled to hold a news conference at 3:30 p.m. ET Monday. Under House rules, the chamber has two legislative days to take up the resolution. Members could vote on the articles or on a motion to table the measure.
Hegseth said he will hold a news conference Tuesday as he faces the impeachment push and criticism from Republicans who blame the Iran war for the party’s midterm losses.
It will be his first news conference in more than 180 days. His last briefing was in May, and he has not held one on the Iran war or other U.S. military actions since then.
Massie began pushing for Hegseth’s impeachment in September, accusing him of “engaging in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization.” The measure was delayed when House leaders ended the chamber’s session before it could come up for a vote.
Massie’s eight articles accuse Hegseth of waging the Iran war without congressional authorization and continuing it past War Powers deadlines. They also accuse him of failing to protect civilians, ordering unlawful strikes on suspected drug traffickers, retaliating against Sen. Mark Kelly over protected speech, directing the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro without legal authority and launching an unauthorized operation in Yemen.
“My effort to impeach Secretary Hegseth is a much gentler version of what’s coming when the Democrats assume control of the House and Senate next year,” Massie said in a release.
Hegseth told reporters Monday that criticizing the Epic Fury and Rough Rider operations or the capture of Maduro means “taking issue with the troops and what they accomplished, which is historic.”
He defended Trump’s decision to strike Iran as a “bold move,” saying, “The choice was don’t act and wish it away or take a bold move, which the president did with Midnight Hammer, which we’ve done with Epic Fury.” Midnight Hammer refers to the strike on Iranian nuclear facilities; Epic Fury is the broader war.
Asked about Vice President JD Vance blaming the Iran war for Republicans’ midterm losses, Hegseth said Trump had said he would make the same decision again. “I agree,” Hegseth said.
In a video posted last week to official Pentagon social media pages, Hegseth called Massie a “disgruntled, defeated congressman.”
“It’s all about the politics of personal destruction. Didn’t work against President Trump and it won’t work with me. You can rest assured of that,” Hegseth said.
President Donald Trump has denied reports that he plans to fire Hegseth after Republicans lost control of Congress to Democrats, saying he thinks the defense secretary is “doing a very good job.”
About 6 in 10 voters said the U.S. made the “wrong decision” in taking military action against Iran, according to The AP Voter Poll, a survey of more than 100,000 voters. About one-third said the war was crucial to shaping their congressional vote, compared with roughly half who said the same about the cost of living or government corruption.
