Washington — House Democrats unveiled articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, making serious allegations about his handling of the war in Iran and his leadership more broadly.

The resolution, led by Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, lists six impeachment 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;
• Conduct bringing disrepute upon the U.S. and its armed forces. 

The impeachment push almost certainly won't go anywhere in the House this year, since Republicans have a narrow majority. But its Democratic sponsors could renew their efforts if the party takes control of the chamber following the midterm elections.

The seven-page impeachment resolution claims Hegseth engaged in high crimes and misdemeanors, the constitutional basis for impeachment. It says he has "demonstrated a willful disregard for the Constitution, abused the powers of his office, and acted in a manner grossly incompatible with the rule of law." 

Axios first reported on the resolution. 

The resolution also accuses Hegseth of failing to prevent the use of military force "in a manner inconsistent with the law of armed conflict," pointing to civilian casualties, including the Feb. 28 bombing of a girls' school in Iran that killed 168 people. A preliminary U.S. assessment suggested that the United States was "likely" responsible for the attack but did not intentionally target the school and may have hit it in error.

The impeachment resolution argues that Hegseth has engaged in conduct "that raises serious concerns of violations of the Geneva Conventions," along with other binding U.S. obligations, citing his comments about giving "no quarter, no mercy for our enemies."

The impeachment articles cite Hegseth's sharing of details about U.S. military operations in Yemen in a private Signal group chat last year, saying he has "demonstrated gross negligence in the handling of sensitive and classified military information." The resolution claims he has engaged in efforts to obstruct constitutional oversight by withholding information on the Venezuela and Iran operations. And it claims he has "shaken public confidence in the integrity and ability of the Department of Defense" in part by undermining the U.S. commitment to NATO. 

Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said the impeachment effort represents "just another Democrat trying to make headlines as the Department of War decisively and overwhelmingly achieved the Presidents' objectives in Iran."

"Secretary Hegseth will continue to protect the homeland and project peace through strength," Wilson said in a statement. "This is just another charade in an attempt to distract the American people from the major successes we have had here at the Department of War."  

The resolution is co-sponsored by a number of Democrats, including Reps. Sarah McBride of Delaware, Lauren Underwood of Illinois, Al Green of Texas, Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Nikema Williams of Georgia, Dina Titus of Nevada, Dave Min of California, Shri Thanedar of Michigan, Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, Mike Quigley of Illinois and Brittany Pettersen of Colorado.

Ansari teased the plan last week amid President Trump's increasing threats to target Iranian infrastructure if a deal was not reached to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Ansari, the first Iranian-American Democrat elected to Congress, said in a post on X that the "rhetoric has crossed every line," claiming "Hegseth is complicit."

"I've called for the 25th Amendment and am introducing Articles of Impeachment against Hegseth," Ansari added. 

Impeachment is the first step in the process of removing executive and judicial branch officials from office. The House is responsible for approving impeachment articles, which are akin to charges in an indictment. The Senate is tasked with holding a trial to determine whether the accused is guilty and should be removed from office.

Only two Cabinet officials have ever been impeached: Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in 2024. Belknap was ultimately acquitted. In Mayorkas' case, the Senate's Democratic majority dispensed with the charges shortly after the trial began.