Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie said he brought eight impeachment articles against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the House floor on Tuesday. In those articles, Massie accused the Pentagon chief of “high crimes and misdemeanors” linked to how U.S. military operations were handled in Iran, Venezuela, and Yemen, along with other actions.
According to Mediaite, House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana moved the chamber into an early recess on Wednesday, Massie later said, instead of allowing a vote on the articles.
That same Wednesday evening, Massie appeared on CNN’s The Source with host Kaitlan Collins and said the recess was connected to the impeachment articles he had introduced.
Massie told CNN leaders checked Republican support before avoiding a floor vote
When Collins asked whether the impeachment effort explained the early recess, Massie answered, “I know it was.” This is not the first time Massie has moved against Hegseth, as he previously launched an effort to impeach him over an allegedly illegal war not approved by Congress.
Massie said that if another reason existed for canceling the next day’s session, leaders still could have held the Hegseth vote that night. He also said Johnson could have scheduled the vote the day the articles were introduced or on Wednesday before the House adjourned.
Collins then asked what Massie thought would have happened if a vote had taken place that night. “That’s a great question,” Massie responded.
“The fact that they didn’t vote on it tells me that they did a whip check, and they probably found that there were some other Republicans – besides me – that were gonna vote for this, or at least didn’t wanna be on the record supporting Hegseth,” Massie said.
About two weeks earlier, Nebraska Republican Rep. Don Bacon told CNN he agreed with remarks from North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis. Tillis had publicly called on President Donald Trump to remove Hegseth from the Pentagon.
In a lengthy post on X, Tillis wrote that he had never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve the country. This criticism aligns with a broader GOP backlash, as Republican senators have turned on Hegseth and called on Trump to fire him. He said Hegseth is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of national defense and the health and well-being of the fighting force.
Tillis urged the president to find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower military talent rather than diminish it.
Published: Sep 17, 2026 05:45 am