Washington (United States) (AFP) – A procedure for the impeachment of the American Minister of Defense, Pete Hegseth, was initiated Monday in Congress by a Republican deputy, who denounces in particular the war in Iran and the way in which this minister of Donald Trump led it.

Published on: 10/11/2026 - 00:10

“Minister Hegseth acted in a manner contrary to the trust placed in him as Minister of Defense (...), to the great detriment of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest detriment of the people of the United States of America,” declared MP Thomas Massie, a frequent critic of the Republican president, announcing from the hemicycle to launch an “impeachment” procedure, which however has little chance of leading to dismissal.

In his resolution, the elected representative from Kentucky accuses the minister of having broken the law by waging war against Iran without having obtained authorization from Congress. He further accuses him of having "ignored the laws" ensuring the protection of civilians in times of war, particularly highlighting the bombing of a primary school in Minab, in the south of Iran, which cost the lives of 120 children in the first hours of the conflict.

Among the eight charges, Pete Hegseth is also singled out for “extrajudicial executions”. Under his leadership, the US military carried out strikes against drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, a campaign particularly criticized under international law.

“They are attacking us”

Despite their large defeat in last week's midterm elections, Republicans have a majority in both houses of Congress until January.

The indictment of the head of the Pentagon should be put to a vote this week in the House of Representatives, where it could well be adopted due to the opposition to the minister from certain Republican deputies, as well as a problem of absenteeism in their ranks for the weeks to come.

Pete Hegseth would then be formally “impeached”, but not yet removed from office. Because a trial before the Senate would follow, where a two-thirds majority vote would be necessary to impeach him.

An improbable result since the Republicans still have 53 senators out of 100. Even in January, when the newly elected officials are inaugurated, the Democrats would need around ten Republican senators to join their efforts.

Pete Hegseth defended himself vigorously on Thursday. “They attack me, they attack us, because we are efficient,” he said in a video.

The minister is due to hold a press conference from the Pentagon on Tuesday morning, an exercise to which he rarely undertakes.

For his part, Donald Trump attacked Thomas Massie on Monday, calling him a "loser" during a press conference at the White House. According to the American president, "soldiers, real soldiers (...) love Pete Hegseth".

“He did a very good job,” he repeated, assuring that he would support his minister even in the event of “impeachment” before the House of Representatives.

“Architect of an irresponsible war”

A formal snub in Congress, however, could force the president's hand and push him to part ways with his minister, at a time when pressure is greater than ever to end the war in Iran.

If the “impeachment” procedure was launched by a Republican, the calls to hold the Minister of Defense accountable mainly come from the Democratic camp.

"Pete Hegseth abused his power, undermined America's national security and is the architect of an irresponsible and costly war in Iran," Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries charged at a press conference on Monday.

The opposition denounces a series of scandals for the former Fox News presenter propelled to head of the Pentagon in 2025.

Recently, he announced the live broadcast of the execution by a military platoon of the author of an attack against American soldiers, before being disavowed by Donald Trump.

During his first months in office, a journalist revealed that he had used a simple conversation on the Signal application to inform others responsible for upcoming military strikes in Yemen, and not secure tools dedicated to this type of ultra-sensitive information.

© 2026 AFP

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