U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth faces impeachment motion, here's what you need to know

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could face an impeachment vote in the House of Representatives as early as this week. It comes as lawmakers return to Washington after an election in which voters widely condemned the Trump administration and the president's handling of the war with Iran.

The effort is being led by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. He introduced a resolution Monday charging Hegseth with violating federal law and the Constitution and abusing his power on multiple fronts.

Democrats have expressed broad support for the action, and several Republicans have expressed displeasure with Hegseth, but the outcome remains uncertain in the narrowly divided House.

Below are key points about the charges, the proceedings and possible subsequent developments.

The resolution accuses Hegseth of violating the Constitution.

Massie lost the May primary to a challenger backed by President Trump. He filed eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth, three of which focused on his handling of the war with Iran.

The provisions accuse the secretary of defense of waging war without congressional authorization and continuing military operations even after Congress votes to require the president to end a conflict or seek authorization to continue a conflict. The resolution also accuses Hegseth of violating deadlines under the War Powers Act. The law requires U.S. forces to withdraw after 60 days of unauthorized hostilities (which can be extended by 30 days).

The remaining charges allege that Hegseth conducted illegal military strikes against suspected drug traffickers; illegally captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro; conducted unauthorized military operations in Yemen; ignored laws designed to minimize civilian casualties; and abused his power to retaliate against Sen. Mark Kelly for legally protected remarks.

Speaker Mike Johnson will decide whether to have the House vote on all eight articles individually or consider them as a package.

Hegseth dismissed the accusations and called the impeachment effort a political farce. He is scheduled to hold a news conference Tuesday morning to address the allegations.

"Secretary Hegseth will not back down or be intimidated by politicians who seek to gain partisan political capital or launch sham investigations without evidence of wrongdoing," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement on Monday, adding that Hegseth intends to serve through the end of President Trump's term.

Trump has expressed support for his defense secretary and said he intends to keep Hegseth in the post.

A majority vote is required to impeach Hegseth.

The Constitution provides for the process by which Congress can impeach and remove the president, judges, and other federal civilian officials, including Cabinet secretaries.

The first step occurs in the House of Representatives, which considers articles of impeachment charging treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Approval of any article of impeachment requires a simple majority. Impeachment amounts to formal charges brought by Congress and then sent to the Senate for a trial to decide whether the official should be convicted and removed from office.

House rules allow any member to propose articles of impeachment and stipulate that the House must consider them within two legislative days. Congressional leaders — in this case Republicans — do not have the power to block a vote, but they can block impeachment by sending the charges to committees, delaying a final vote or putting the bill on hold, which would effectively derail the impeachment effort.

If the House impeached Hegseth, a two-thirds majority vote of senators present would be needed to convict and remove him from office.

The outcome of the impeachment vote is uncertain.

Democrats are widely expected to support impeaching Hegseth, with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declaring Sunday that he "strongly supports" it. Given the slim Republican majority, only three Republicans defecting or a few absentees would be enough for the resolution to pass.

In addition to Massey, several other Republicans have expressed dissatisfaction with the secretary but have not committed to supporting impeachment. Rep. French Hill, R-Arkansas, said Sunday he wanted to hear the arguments but warned that poor job performance alone did not necessarily constitute an impeachable offense.