Larson and Democratic Colleagues File Articles of Impeachment Against U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth

Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) joined Rep. Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03) and a group of their Democratic colleagues to file articles of impeachment against U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, for high crimes and misdemeanors.

Today's introduction of articles of impeachment against Secretary Hegseth follow Larson's filing of 13 articles against President Donald John Trump, as their illegal war in Iran threatens the lives, safety, and security of the American people. In December, Larson called for Hegseth to resign from his position, after it was reported that he gave an illegal order resulting in a second strike to kill survivors of an initial attack on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea.

"As Donald Trump becomes more and more unhinged, Pete Hegseth continues to carry out his erratic, unlawful, and dangerous edicts -in direct violation of the United States Constitution and international law," said Congressman Larson. "Secretary Hegseth has not only put our troops in danger by leaking classified information, but he has also abused his position to target the President's political opponents and order our Armed Forces to strike boats in the Caribbean and attack Iran without Congressional authorization. He must be held accountable for these actions he has taken and carried out."

"Pete Hegseth broke his oath to the Constitution, put U.S. troops at grave risk through the unauthorized disclosure of classified information, engaged in abuse of office and conduct beneath the dignity of his office, and carried out unlawful military actions despite his obligation to refuse-including strikes on civilians and a girls' school in Minab, Iran. Hegseth's conduct meets the threshold of high crimes and misdemeanors and warrants immediate removal by Congress," said Congresswoman Ansari. "As the daughter of Iranian immigrants and as someone who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, I know this absolutely cannot continue. The stakes for U.S. servicemembers and our national security, the Iranian people and innocent civilians everywhere, and global stability are too high to ignore."

Larson, Ansari, and their colleagues filed six articles of impeachment against Secretary Hegseth:

• Unauthorized war against Iran and reckless endangerment of United States servicemembers, in direct contravention of Article I of the U.S. Constitution and the War Powers Resolution;

• Violations of the law of armed conflict and targeting of civilians, including an illegal strike to kill survivors of an initial attack on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea and operations resulting in large civilian casualties in Iran that run afoul of the Geneva Conventions;

• Negligence and reckless handling of sensitive military information, including the unlawful sharing of classified information over unsecured communication systems like Signal;

• Obstruction of Congressional oversight, including ongoing efforts towithhold material facts relating to civilian casualties and operational conduct in Iran and Venezuela;

• Abuse of power and politicization of the Armed Forces, including the authorization of targeted investigations against elected officials like Captain Mark Kelly for exercising their First Amendment rights;

• Conduct bringing disrepute upon the United States and its Armed Forces, including the forcible separation of transgender servicemembers from the military

Full text of the articles of impeachment against Secretary Hegseth is available HERE.