On April 6, 2026, Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ-03) — the only Iranian American in Congress — announced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. On April 15, the formal 7-page resolution was introduced with five specific articles of impeachment and eight co-sponsors.
The five articles charge: (1) unauthorized war against Iran and reckless endangerment of U.S. service members; (2) violations of the Law of Armed Conflict and targeting of civilians, including the Minab school bombing (the local prosecutor's final toll, cited by a United Nations fact-finding mission, is 156 killed, including 120 schoolchildren; Iranian state media reported 168) and “illegal double tap strikes in the southern Caribbean”; (3) negligent handling of classified information (Signalgate — Jeff Goldberg added to Signal chat with strike details); (4) obstruction of congressional oversight, withholding material facts on civilian casualties in Iran, Venezuela, and other theaters; (5) conduct bringing disrepute upon the armed forces, including DEI rollback and threats to withdraw from NATO.
Eight co-sponsors joined Ansari: Reps. Cohen, Crockett, Williams, Titus, Min, Thanedar, Pettersen, and McBride. MoveOn, Indivisible, and the Center for International Policy are backing the effort. Over 100 international law experts signed a letter condemning Hegseth's “no quarter, no mercy” declaration.
These were not the first articles filed against Hegseth: Rep. Shri Thanedar introduced articles on December 9, 2025 charging him with murder over the September 2, 2025 boat strike (see U.S. Commanders Watched Two Survivors of the First Boat Strike Cling to the Wreckage for More Than 40 Minutes, Then Killed Them). Constitutional lawyer Bruce Fein (Reagan-era associate deputy AG): “Hegseth has flouted his constitutional obligation in committing war crimes in violation of the War Crimes Act.”
The Pentagon dismissed the effort. But the filing creates a formal congressional record of specific war crimes allegations — backed by 9 House members, 100+ legal experts, and major progressive organizations.
Correction (September 21, 2026): this entry previously said these were the first impeachment articles filed against a sitting Defense Secretary over war crimes and only the third ever filed against a Cabinet member, and that Article II cites a “kill them all” directive. The first two claims are wrong, because Rep. Thanedar filed articles against Hegseth four months earlier. The third misquotes the resolution, whose words are “illegal double tap strikes in the southern Caribbean.”
Correction (October 2, 2026): this entry gave the Minab toll as “168+ killed, mostly children,” a figure from Iranian state media. The local prosecutor's final toll, cited by the UN fact-finding mission, is 156, including 120 schoolchildren. A key fact also still described this as only the third impeachment effort against a Cabinet member, which the September 21 correction had already withdrawn; it has been removed.
Update (October 30, 2026): Asked by a Washington Examiner reporter on October 29 about Democrats impeaching Hegseth if they win the House, Trump said, “I think it's terrible,” and, “All they do is they talk about impeaching everybody.” He added, “I mean, honestly, if we wanted to play that game, we could play it just as well,” and said of Hegseth, “He's doing a great job. He's a great warrior.” Both the Examiner and Talking Points Memo said it was unclear what Trump meant; both pointed to his earlier statements about vetoing legislation if Democrats take control.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who leaves Congress in January after losing his primary, said he plans to force a vote on impeachment articles against Hegseth when the House returns after the midterms, the Examiner reported (see Republican Thomas Massie Forces a Vote on Impeaching Hegseth Over the Iran War, and Speaker Johnson Sends the House Home Before It Happens). Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, in line to be speaker if Democrats win the House, said at a rally this month, “One of the first things we're going to do in the majority, we're going to run Pete Hegseth out of town,” The Atlantic reported.