Democrats Promise to Run Hegseth “Out of Town,” and Won’t Rule Out Impeaching Trump

Written By TNT Staff, Posted on October 21, 2026

Featured photo: Official portrait of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. U.S. Department of Defense photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

With the midterms 13 days away, House Democrats have made removing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth a headline campaign promise, and their leader won’t say whether President Trump is next.

“In the minority, we ran Pam Bondi out of town,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told a rally for Pennsylvania congressional candidate Bob Harvie on Oct. 10, according to Punchbowl News. “In the minority, we ran Kristi Noem out of town. And I’m here to say one of the first things we’re going to do in the majority is run Pete Hegseth out of town!”

Asked about impeaching the president himself, Jeffries left the door open. “We haven’t ruled anything in or ruled anything out,” he said.

What the Democrats’ articles actually say

Democrats already have a written case. H.Res. 1177, introduced April 15 by Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) with 13 co-sponsors including Reps. Jasmine Crockett, Al Green and Steve Cohen, lays out six articles of impeachment. It has sat in the Judiciary Committee since.

The first five articles deal with war powers, the law of armed conflict, the Signal chat episode, oversight and alleged politicization of the military. Those are serious subjects, and Congress has every right to argue them. But the resolution does not stop there.

Article VI charges Hegseth with “degrading the readiness and cohesion of U.S. Armed Forces” by “denigrating women, LGBTQ+, and people of color serving the United States, including by forcibly separating transgender people from service.” It accuses him of “attacking women’s physical qualifications” and of “promoting standards of appearance that disproportionately penalize Black servicemembers.”

Those are policy choices: restoring single physical standards, enforcing grooming rules and ending transgender service. Voters can like them or not. The Constitution reserves impeachment for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors,” not for disagreements over fitness tests and shaving policy. Folding them into articles of impeachment tells voters what a Democratic majority would treat as a removable offense.

The two impeachment resolutions against Hegseth, and where they stand. (TNT graphic)

The Republican resolution is a different animal

Democrats are not the only ones targeting Hegseth. On Sept. 15, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) filed eight articles of impeachment as a privileged resolution, which forces a floor vote. Massie’s case is almost entirely about war powers: the Iran war, the Yemen campaign, the strikes on suspected drug boats and the operation to seize Nicolás Maduro, plus the Pentagon’s action against Sen. Mark Kelly.

“By engaging in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization, Secretary Hegseth is breaking the law and must be held accountable,” Massie said. Whatever one thinks of his conclusions, his articles stick to constitutional questions about Congress’s power over war. There is no fitness-test charge in them.

House leaders canceled votes on Sept. 16 and sent members home until after the election, NBC News reported, pushing Massie’s vote past Election Day. The privileged clock resumes when the House returns Nov. 9, making it an early item for the lame-duck session.

The White House called Massie’s push “a sham attempt” to undermine Republicans. Spokesperson Taylor Rogers said Hegseth has “done an outstanding job recruiting, rebuilding, and strengthening the United States military,” Punchbowl News reported.

How the Hegseth impeachment fight got here. (TNT graphic)

The math

Even if the House impeaches Hegseth, conviction takes 67 votes in the Senate. That is not going to happen in this Senate, and almost certainly not in the next one. A Democratic House could still spend its first months on impeachment hearings, as Jeffries is promising.

That is the real choice on Nov. 3. Voters who want a fight over war powers have Massie’s vote coming either way. A Democratic majority would also bring a resolution that treats grooming standards as a high crime, and a leader who will not rule out impeaching the president.

TNT Staff