Massie said he'll bring back impeachment articles against Hegseth. Here's what would happen next

Impeachment doesn't automatically mean removal from office. Published Nov. 5, 2026 Claim: After Democrats won a majority in both congressional chambers in 2026, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said he would try to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Rating: ContextIf the vote to impeach Hegseth passes in the House, the Senate must then vote to either acquit or convict Hegseth on the articles of impeachment. Under the Constitution, convicting and removing a public official from office requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate. Shortly after Election Day, a rumor spread that U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., planned to force a vote to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in response to the Democrats' outsize victories in the 2026 midterms — which were widely seen as a rebuke of President Donald Trump's policies, particularly his war in Iran. The rumor circulated on X and Facebook. Snopes readers searched the website for information on a possible Hegseth impeachment trial. In short, the claim is true. It originated with a CNN article titled "Republicans quickly turn against Pete Hegseth after midterms rout." Here's what the story said about Massie (emphasis ours): House Republicans are expected to vote to directly repudiate the defense secretary in a matter of days. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, the famously anti-Trump GOP lawmaker, told CNN he plans to trigger a vote to impeach Hegseth when Congress returns next week — and multiple GOP sources said they expect it to pass. Massie then referenced CNN's reporting in a Nov. 4 X post (archived) that confirmed he planned to reintroduce articles of impeachment against Hegseth. (Massie previously forced a vote on impeaching Hegseth in September, which failed.) "There is one contingency in which I won't reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns," Massie said on his official X account, which has a gray checkmark badge verifying that it authentically represents a government official. Snopes has not independently verified CNN's report that at least some Republicans believe Massie's impeachment articles against Hegseth will pass. The House passes impeachment articles through a simple majority. The Senate must then vote on whether to convict Hegseth on those articles of impeachment before he would be removed from office — and the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate to convict. Congress has never successfully removed a Cabinet member from office under the impeachment process. After several news outlets reported that Hegseth did not intend to step down and that Trump was showing support for him — at least publicly — Massie said in a Nov. 5 X post that his impeachment resolution was a "much gentler version of what's coming when Dem's control Congress." (While Democrats won majorities in both congressional chambers, they won't actually take control of the Senate and House of Representatives until the new members are sworn in in January.) Following Massie's Nov. 5 post, Hegseth shared a video that same day calling Massie a "disgruntled, defeated congressman" who, alongside Democratic allies, "dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly" (at 4:12). In the video, Hegseth compared the impeachment efforts against him to lawmakers' previous attempts to impeach Trump. "It's all about the politics of personal destruction," he said. "Didn't work against President Trump, and it won't work with me." Sources Cancryn, Adam, et al. "Republicans Quickly Turn against Pete Hegseth after Midterms Rout." CNN, 5 Nov. 2026, https://www.cnn.com/2026/11/04/politics/pete-hegseth-impeachment-trump.Jacobs, Jennifer, and Emma Nicholson. "Trump Asking Advisers If Hegseth Should Stay after Midterm Losses, Sources Say - CBS News." CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-hegseth-midterm-election-losses/.Karl, Jonathan. "Trump Says He Has 'every Intention' to Keep Hegseth." ABC News, 5 Nov. 2026, https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-intention-hegseth/story?id=137874670.Mordowanec, Nick. "Pentagon Says Secretary Hegseth Won't 'Back Down' as Democrats Win Congress and Impeachment Talk Grows." Military.Com, 4 Nov. 2026, https://www.military.com/hegseth-remains-defiant-as-impeachment-calls-grow-following-democrats-big-election-night."Rep. Massie Forces Vote to Impeach Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth." Congressman Thomas Massie, 15 Sept. 2026, https://massie.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=395853.@RepThomasMassie. "If Trump's Going to Replace Appointees like Hegseth, He Should Do It While He Can Still Get the Replacements Confirmed in the Senate. ." X.Com, 5 Nov. 2026, https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/2118341933676519754.———. "There Is One Contingency in Which I Won't Reintroduce the Articles of Impeachment: Hegseth Resigns." X.Com, 4 Nov. 2026, https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/2118151572391940590.@SecWar. "At the War Department: We Stand. We Fight. We Defend the Republic." X.Com, 5 Nov. 2025, https://x.com/SecWar/status/2118433945746366605?s=20.U.S. Senate: About Impeachment. https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/impeachment.htm#:~:text=The%20Constitution%20requires%20a%20two%2Dthirds%20vote%20of%20the%20Senate%20to%20convict%2C%20and%20the%20penalty%20for%20an%20impeached%20official%20upon%20conviction%20is%20removal%20from%20office. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026. By Rae Deng Rae Deng specializes in government/politics and is based in Tacoma, Wash. Article Tags