Democratic Representative Shri Thanedar has introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing him of murder and conspiracy to murder in connection with a deadly Caribbean boat strike and of recklessly mishandling classified military plans. The resolution centers on Hegseth’s alleged role in a second strike on September 2 that killed stranded survivors, and on the unauthorized sharing of bombing plans for Yemen in an unsecured Signal chat, amid broader congressional resistance to pursuing impeachment.
Democratic Representative Shri Thanedar of Michigan has filed articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, invoking Rule IX of the House of Representatives to bring the measure forward as a privileged resolution.
Under House Rule IX, any member can introduce an impeachment resolution as a privileged matter, forcing House leaders to address it on the floor within two legislative days, either through a direct vote or by moving to table or refer the measure, according to an explanation cited by The Nation. (thenation.com)
Thanedar’s impeachment filing, detailed in his office’s public statements and in reporting by The Nation, rests on two principal allegations. (thanedar.house.gov) The first accuses Hegseth of “murder and conspiracy to murder” in relation to U.S. military actions against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean on September 2. The resolution asserts that, in compliance with an order from Hegseth, U.S. forces conducted a second strike with the deliberate purpose of killing two shipwrecked survivors of an initial attack, in violation of provisions in the Defense Department’s Law of War Manual that are meant to protect such survivors. (thenation.com)
In an interview with The Nation, Thanedar characterized the September 2 incident as “really… murder; it has nothing to do with drugs and protecting the United States,” and emphasized that the resolution explicitly labels the conduct as “murder and conspiracy to murder” rather than using broader language about potential war crimes. (thenation.com) The impeachment text, as described by The Nation, states that the second strike was ordered with the “express, willful, and deliberate purpose of killing the shipwrecked survivors of the first strike.” (thenation.com)
Thanedar and his allies have also sought to link the Caribbean operation to broader criticism of the administration’s approach to narcotics interdiction. In his remarks to The Nation, Thanedar noted that President Donald Trump has recently pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was previously convicted in the United States of facilitating the trafficking of roughly 450 tons of cocaine into the country—a case widely reported in U.S. courts and media. (thenation.com)
The second article in Thanedar’s resolution addresses what critics have dubbed the “Signalgate” scandal. A Pentagon investigation, summarized in coverage by The Nation and other outlets, found that Hegseth shared sensitive details of a planned bombing raid in Yemen in an unsecured Signal group chat, including elements of target systems and anticipated attack timing. (thanedar.house.gov) Thanedar argued that such conduct is incompatible with Hegseth’s responsibilities: “Here’s a Secretary of Defense who is managing a trillion-dollar budget, sending people into harm’s way, and he needs to be acting responsibly. The fact that he gives out war plans on a Signal chat puts our service members in grave danger,” he told The Nation. (thenation.com)
The move places Thanedar at odds with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who has publicly rejected the idea of pursuing an impeachment inquiry against Hegseth. Jeffries has argued that investigations by the House and Senate Armed Services Committees offer a more realistic path to bipartisan scrutiny, while also noting that Republicans, who control the House, are unlikely to allow impeachment articles to advance to a floor vote. (thenation.com)
Thanedar, who earlier this year initiated a separate impeachment push against President Donald Trump that drew resistance from party leaders, is again testing the boundaries of Democratic strategy on accountability. (thanedar.house.gov) In speaking to The Nation, he cast the Hegseth resolution as a moral obligation rather than a political calculation, saying that a vote—even if it fails—would create a public record of where lawmakers stand on the allegations.
Outside Congress, advocacy groups have begun mobilizing around the effort. The Nation reports that activists, including members of the 50501 movement, have condemned Hegseth as unfit for office and are pressing for his removal over the Caribbean strike and his handling of classified information. (thenation.com) Thanedar has said he hopes to win support not only from rank-and-file Democrats but also from a number of Republicans, pointing to recent intra-party dissent on other high-profile votes as evidence that some GOP lawmakers may be willing to break with the administration. (thenation.com)
Whether the impeachment articles will receive a floor vote remains uncertain. Impeachment of a Cabinet secretary is extremely rare in U.S. history, and with Republicans in control of the House, any effort to remove Hegseth faces steep political obstacles, according to recent analyses by Axios and other outlets. (axios.com)
