A motion to impeach US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has been submitted to the US House of Representatives.
The motion, introduced by Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contains eight articles of impeachment.
The first three articles accuse Hegseth of initiating and continuing military operations against Iran without congressional authorisation.
The fourth article alleges that he failed to take adequate measures to minimise civilian casualties. The fifth concerns alleged unlawful killings, including the deaths of 221 people in attacks on boats suspected of carrying drug traffickers from Venezuela, without proper verification.
The sixth article accuses Hegseth of attempting to restrict Senator Mark Kelly’s freedom of speech. The seventh concerns the alleged abduction of the head of state of a sovereign country.
The eighth article accuses him of launching military operations in Yemen without congressional approval.
The impeachment motion is expected to be put to a vote in the House of Representatives within the next few days. If approved, it will be referred to the Senate for consideration. A two-thirds majority in the Senate is required to convict and remove Hegseth from office.
Thomas Massie has introduced the motion before lawmakers elected in the recent elections take their seats in Congress. Consequently, Republicans still hold majorities in both chambers.
However, following the recent elections, some prominent Republican figures appear to be distancing themselves from President Donald Trump as much as possible.
The impeachment vote is therefore expected to present these lawmakers with an opportunity to demonstrate where they stand on the Trump administration.
