Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said Wednesday night that he will force a House vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth when Congress returns next week unless Hegseth resigns, opening the lame-duck session with a Republican fight over the Iran war.
“There is one contingency in which I won’t reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns,” Massie wrote on X.
There is one contingency in which I won’t reintroduce the articles of impeachment: Hegseth resigns.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) November 5, 2026
He was responding to a CNN report on his plans. CNN cited multiple Republican sources who said they expected the measure to pass, according to Benzinga. Massie introduced articles in September accusing Hegseth of violating Congress’s war powers. He lost his May primary to a Trump-backed challenger after opposing the war.
“I wonder how many of my colleagues would like a chance to go back and change their vote on my Iran War Powers Resolution in March?” Massie wrote Wednesday.
Trump stands by his Pentagon chief
President Trump said Wednesday that he is not considering replacing Hegseth. “No, I think he’s doing a very good job,” he said, according to The Hill.
Asked whether Hegseth could fill the Tennessee Senate seat opening up now that Sen. Marsha Blackburn has been elected governor, Trump said, “I actually think he’d be very popular if he did that. But I haven’t heard that at all.”
Eight weeks of majority left
Republicans keep both chambers until the new Congress is sworn in Jan. 3. Government funding runs out Dec. 11. Lawmakers also need to extend farm and surface transportation laws and pass the annual defense policy bill, Semafor reported.
House conservatives want to finish the fiscal work before Democrats arrive. “House Republicans have only 20 legislative days left in this Congress to stop Democrats from weaponizing looming deadlines against the American people,” said House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md. “Clear the decks now, in a fiscally responsible way, so we can lock in these conservative wins without unfinished business giving Democrats new leverage.”
Some Republicans want one more budget reconciliation bill, which can pass the Senate by simple majority, to boost defense spending. Semafor reported it is not clear they have the votes.
The Senate leadership race
In the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune is running for minority leader in leadership elections set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, in the Old Senate Chamber, Roll Call reported. No senator has said publicly that he will challenge him. A Republican source told Fox News Digital this week that Sen. Mike Lee of Utah could be an alternative.
Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming is expected to seek his post again. “There are clear lessons to be learned from the results,” he wrote on X.
The bottom line
Massie has been consistent on the war, and his warnings about its political cost proved accurate. Impeachment is still the wrong tool, because Hegseth carried out a war the President ordered. The proper place to settle a war-powers dispute is a vote on authorizing or ending the war, which Congress has avoided. Republicans who help impeach a Cabinet secretary in the final weeks of their majority would be handing Democrats a trophy before they even take power.
The better use of the next eight weeks is the one Harris laid out. Republicans should fund the government without giving Democrats a December hostage, confirm as many of the President’s nominees as possible and pass a final reconciliation bill that locks in defense money.
Senate Republicans should also hold a real contest for leader on Tuesday, so that whoever leads the minority has to explain to the conference how he will fight for the agenda that stalled this year.