House Democrats move to impeach Hegseth over Iran strike, misconduct claims

House Democrats filed articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday, accusing him of a willful disregard for the Constitution and using the move to force a public fight over Iran strikes, civilian deaths, and the Signal chat scandal.

Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona led the filing, which lays out six articles: unauthorized war against Iran and reckless endangerment of U.S. service members, violations of the law of armed conflict and targeting of civilians, negligence and reckless handling of sensitive military information, obstruction of congressional oversight, abuse of power and politicization of the armed forces, and conduct bringing disrepute upon the U.S. and its armed forces. The resolution says Hegseth engaged in "high crimes and misdemeanors" and acted in a manner incompatible with the rule of law.

The strongest factual claims in the filing center on the February 28, 2026 bombing of a girls’ school in Minab, Iran, which killed 168 people. The impeachment text says a preliminary U.S. assessment found the United States was likely responsible for the strike, though it did not intentionally target the school. It also accuses Hegseth of sharing details of U.S. military operations in Yemen in a private Signal chat and of obstructing oversight by withholding information on the Venezuela and Iran operations.

Ansari first said on April 6 that she intended to pursue impeachment, warning that President Donald Trump’s actions were dragging the country into a "devastating, never-ending war" and that Hegseth had helped direct violence that destroyed schools, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure. In her formal statement Tuesday, Ansari said Hegseth had put U.S. troops at grave risk through unauthorized disclosure of classified information, engaged in abuse of office, and carried out unlawful military actions. She said the stakes for servicemembers, the Iranian people, innocent civilians and global stability were too high to ignore.

The filing was cosponsored by 12 House Democrats, including Sarah McBride, Lauren Underwood, Al Green, Steve Cohen, Jasmine Crockett, Nikema Williams, Dina Titus, Dave Min, Shri Thanedar, Melanie Stansbury, Mike Quigley and Brittany Pettersen. It was also endorsed by MoveOn, Indivisible, Foreign Policy 4 America, Win Without War, Common Defense and the Center for International Policy.

The political odds are steep. Republicans still hold the House majority, making passage highly unlikely, and the current effort appears designed as much to define Hegseth publicly as to force a vote. A prior attempt by Shri Thanedar, filed on December 9, 2025 as H.Res. 935, was referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Under the Constitution, the House can impeach by simple majority, but removal requires Senate conviction. The House has initiated impeachment proceedings more than 60 times, yet only 21 officials have been impeached in U.S. history, including just one cabinet secretary, Secretary of War William W. Belknap in 1876.