A firebrand conservative congressman has filed articles of impeachment against Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Iran war.
Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie announced the impeachment attempt, accusing Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanours.
Articles of impeachment have been filed against Pete Hegseth. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
Massie accused Hegseth of starting the war with Iran unlawfully and incurring unnecessary civilian casualties.
“Secretary Hegseth thereby effected the murder of civilians and abused the trust of men and women under his command by requiring them to conduct military operations within a targeted and legal review system that he had deliberately degraded,” Massie said in Congress.
“This undermined the integrity and diplomacy of the United States and its armed forces.
“He thus ignored and injured the interests of the nation.”
The Pentagon has defended Hegseth after Massie’s announcement.
“Secretary Hegseth has been a transformative leader for the Department of War,” a Pentagon spokesperson said.
“The entire Department is unified behind the Secretary’s vision and will continue working to put our warfighters and America first.”
In order for his impeachment bid to succeed, he will need a majority of House members to vote in favour. He will then need a two-thirds majority to remove Hegseth from office.
Thomas Massie lost his primary after Donald Trump endorsed his opponent. AP
“Secretary Hegseth has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as Secretary of Defence and subversive of constitutional government to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States of America,” Massie said.
In order to succeed in the first step, Massie will need all the Democratic caucus and a handful of Republicans to vote with him.
But even if he succeeds in that unlikely move, the chances of two-thirds of senators voting to impeach is near zero.
Hegseth is one of the more controversial figures in the Trump administration, only narrowly being confirmed in his role after questions were raised about his past.
Hegseth was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017. He denied wrongdoing but confirmed he paid her $US50,000 as part of a settlement.
His history of heavy drinking will also come under the spotlight.
An FBI background check cited an alleged incident where Hegseth got so drunk at a strip club while dressed in a military uniform that he had to be carried out of the venue by his brother.
Getting drunk in uniform is a violation of military laws.
Pete Hegseth is one of the most controversial figures in Donald Trump’s cabinet. AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Massie said he did not tell any other representatives of his impeachment bid.
His impeachment attempt is unwelcome news among Democrats, who are looking to focus on cost-of-living issues ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Massie, a deeply conservative Republican, lost his primary election for the next term in Congress after Donald Trump endorsed his opponent.
As a consequence, Massie will remain in Congress until January before leaving office.
Unlike most other Republicans in the House, Massie has been more than willing to criticise Trump on issues like data centres and the Epstein files.
Thomas Massie has been a strong advocate for releasing the Epstein files. AP
He is also working on forcing a vote to release countless documents in the Epstein files that have remained secret.
Massie’s announcement took place hours after a bid to impeach Trump failed in the House.
Democrat Al Green filed the impeachment articles against the president without the blessing of the rest of his caucus.
The vote failed 232 to 147, with dozens more voting present.
A joint statement from Democratic leadership said the articles had been filed without any investigations or hearings.
“None of that serious work has been done, with the Republican majority focused solely on rubber stamping Donald Trump’s extreme agenda,” the statement read.