How impeaching US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth would work

WASHINGTON – The US House of Representatives could soon hold a vote to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.Though presidential impeachments get bigger headlines – Senate trials of Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump (twice) transfixed the country – the House has also impeached cabinet secretaries and federal judges.The process can differ, but the underlying constitutional requirements are the same.Who may be impeached, and for what?The Constitution holds that “The President, Vice-President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanours.”What is an impeachable offence?Treason and bribery are easily defined terms under federal law, but there has long been a debate about the meaning of “high crimes and misdemeanours”.As Congress has defined it through the years, the phrase “high crimes and misdemeanours” includes exceeding or abusing the powers of office and misusing the office for improper purpose or gain.Offences do not have to be criminal.Arguing for the adoption of the Constitution in Federalist No. 65, Alexander Hamilton defined impeachable offences as “those offences which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust”.What are the allegations against Hegseth?Representative Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican who lost a primary election in 2026 to a Trump-backed challenger, introduced on Nov 9 a resolution with eight articles of impeachment:Hegseth carried out hostilities against Iran without a declaration of war and without an attack on the US.He kept US forces fighting in Iran after both chambers passed a resolution directing their removal under the War Powers Resolution of 1973.He continued the Iran war after the 60-day deadline for the president to withdraw forces unless authorised by Congress.He dismantled legal civilian-protection safeguards, leading to a missile strike on an Iranian elementary school that killed at least 156 people, mostly children.He directed unauthorised strikes against suspected drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific that killed at least 243 people, denying quarter and rescue to survivors.He retaliated against Senator Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, for his “you can refuse illegal orders” video directed at US military and intelligence personnel by threatening a court-martial, suppressing Kelly’s free speech rights.He directed the raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, an act of war not authorised by Congress.He waged military operations in Yemen that killed an estimated 224 civilians, without congressional authorisation or an imminent threat to the US.Massie’s resolution is the third to target Hegseth. Two previous Democratic resolutions have failed to get a hearing in committee. How has Hegseth responded?In a social media post on Nov 5, Hegseth defended his record in implementing Trump’s agenda. “This is not about me, but of course the other side, in case you’ve noticed – they’re obsessed,” he said.“A disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies, has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly.”He portrayed the impeachment effort as part of a larger culture war, but also defended Trump’s military actions.“Narco terrorists should die, not be caught and released,” he said, referring to the US’s series of lethal strikes against vessels that the military says are involved in drug trafficking.“When we say that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, we actually mean it, and we will do the hard work to ensure it.” How does such an impeachment work?The introduction of articles of impeachment is just the beginning of the process. Under House rules, an impeachment resolution is referred to the Judiciary Committee, currently led by close Trump ally Jim Jordan of Ohio. But such resolutions can also be privileged, meaning that Massie or any other member may ask for a direct vote on the measure, bypassing committee.Such a vote must then take place within two legislative days.The House could also elect to “table” it rather than vote on the impeachment resolution itself, which would kill it before it goes to a vote.If passed by a majority of the House, the impeachment then goes to the Senate for a trial, during which House “managers” serve as prosecutors.Senate trials of Cabinet members work similarly to presidential impeachments except for one key difference: The chief justice of the US Supreme Court presides when the president is the defendant, since a vice-president would have a conflict in a trial that could elevate him.Otherwise the Senate’s own presiding officer runs the proceedings. That could be Vice-President J.D. Vance or, in his absence, president pro tempore Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican. The full Senate need not stop its business to hold a trial. Under a 1935 rule, smaller panels of about 12 senators can hear evidence and then report findings to the full Senate. Conviction and removal from office requires a two-thirds vote of all senators present.The Senate is controlled by Republicans until the next Congress convenes on Jan 3, and even once Democrats take over the chamber, their majority will not be large enough to convict without some Republicans joining.What happens if Congress adjourns before a trial?If the House adjourns without a vote on the articles of impeachment, they would have to be reintroduced in the next Congress.Under Democratic control, the House would likely be even more receptive to impeachment next year, but the involvement of a Republican sponsor such as Massie cloaks the effort as bipartisan.The Senate moves slower, and a Senate trial would be as long or short as the chamber decides. Unlike the House, the Senate is a continuing body.There is precedent for an impeachment by the House in one Congress to be decided by the Senate in the next: Most recently Judge Alcee Hastings, impeached in 1988 on bribery charges and convicted in 1989.At the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson in 1868, the Senate acquitted him of three articles but then adjourned before deciding the other eight.How common are impeachments of Cabinet members?Only two Cabinet members have been impeached by the House: Secretary of War William Belknap for accepting kickbacks in 1876, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over border enforcement in 2024.Belknap resigned and was acquitted by the Senate; the Senate dismissed the case against Mayorkas without a trial, sustaining a point of order that the accusations did not “allege conduct that rises to the level of a high crime or misdemeanour”.Fourteen judges and one Supreme Court justice have been impeached throughout history. Eight of them have been found guilty – the most recent being G. Thomas Porteous Jr., a federal judge from Louisiana removed from office in 2010 for perjury and for accepting bribes. BLOOMBERG