218 votes needed as Republicans eye impeachment of Defense Secretary Hegseth

The political pressure on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth intensified on Wednesday after the Republican Party suffered a sweeping defeat in the midterm elections. The loss has shifted the focus of intra-party conflict toward the US-Israel war on Iran, with Hegseth emerging as the primary target for accountability. While President Donald Trump defended his cabinet member, several Republican lawmakers are moving to force a vote on his removal.

Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky announced that he plans to trigger an impeachment vote in the House as soon as the chamber returns next week. Massie filed eight formal impeachment accusations against Hegseth in September. He argued that the secretary's constitutional violations extend beyond the conduct of the war in Iran to include ignoring congressional war powers resolutions and retaliating against critics of the administration.

Massie, who lost his Republican primary in May, has stated that this is his final session to pursue the matter. In an interview with CNN, he said, “He is abusing the power of his office to ignore congressional war powers resolutions, to kidnap foreign leaders and to intimidate critics of the Trump administration by retaliating against them for exercising free speech.” Multiple Republican sources told CNN they expect the vote to pass in the current House configuration.

The vote will take place before the new House members elected this week take office in January. Democrats currently hold 214 seats in the chamber. To secure a simple majority of 218 votes, Massie needs support from just a few Republican colleagues. If the vote waits until the new Congress convenes, Democrats are on track to hold 240 confirmed seats, which would allow them to pass the measure without Republican support.

President Trump, who described Hegseth as a champion of the Iran war, told reporters on Wednesday that he was not considering replacing him. “I think he’s doing a very good job,” the president said. However, Vice President JD Vance conceded that the war was the primary reason for the electoral defeat, stating, “Any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.”

Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Hegseth would face a reckoning during the lame duck session. Tillis, who supported Hegseth's confirmation in January 2025, called that vote the biggest regret of his career. He argued that Trump would struggle to secure necessary Pentagon funding if Hegseth remains in office. “I think after the election, we need to determine whether or not he’s the best person to bring those needs to Congress,” Tillis said.

Critics argue that Hegseth oversold US military capabilities and pushed for escalation even when it was clear that force would not bring the Iranian government to surrender. Paul Musgrave, an associate professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, noted that observers can already see knives out for the secretary. Republican sources told CNN that Hegseth continued to advocate for military action despite internal doubts about its effectiveness.

Even if the House impeaches Hegseth, the process faces a high hurdle in the Senate. Removal requires a two-thirds majority of 67 votes. Democrats currently hold a minority in the Senate and are projected to have a maximum of 56 seats in the new Congress. This means they would need at least 11 Republicans to join them to secure the necessary votes. This threshold mirrors the outcomes for previous impeached officials, including President Trump and former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, both of whom were acquitted by the Senate.

Richard Johnson, a senior lecturer in politics at Queen Mary University of London, suggested that pressure on Hegseth to resign may grow regardless of the impeachment vote. He posited that Republican candidates with leadership ambitions may position themselves as more aligned with the Make America Great Again movement's original promise of avoiding new foreign wars. This strategy would involve distancing themselves from the conflict and portraying the administration's actions as a betrayal of the base.