Greene Says She Would Vote to Impeach Hegseth Over War Powers

A prominent former Republican lawmaker's public statement signals that criticism of the Defense Secretary's conduct is not confined to one party, adding pressure to a Pentagon leadership already...

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) stated on November 11, 2026, that she would vote to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth if she were still serving in the House of Representatives. Greene made the statement in an interview with NewsNation, as reported by The Hill.

Greene's stated rationale centered on the constitutional allocation of war powers rather than on conduct specific to Hegseth alone. "Congress needs to reclaim its authority over war, and Congress is supposed to vote when a war is lasting more than 60 days," she told NewsNation. She added that the problem has persisted "for decades, war after war."

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 (50 U.S.C. 1541-1548) requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to hostilities and limits unauthorized deployments to 60 days unless Congress authorizes an extension. No President since the resolution's passage has formally acknowledged it as a constitutional constraint, and Congress has not enforced its 60-day limit through any successful legislative action in that period, according to Congressional Research Service reports on war powers compliance.

Greene left Congress following the 2026 midterm elections, in which Republicans lost their House and Senate majorities, as covered previously by this publication. Republicans Lose House and Senate Majority in 2026 Midterm Elections. Her statement therefore carries no current legislative weight, as she holds no elected office as of November 11, 2026.

The impeachment of a Cabinet secretary is a constitutionally available remedy under Article II, Section 4, which covers "all civil Officers of the United States." The House has impeached Cabinet-level officials on a small number of occasions. The most recent case involving a sitting Defense Secretary was the 2021 impeachment of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas by the House, which the Senate declined to hold a trial on. The Congressional Record for that proceeding is publicly available through Congress.gov.

Hegseth has not publicly responded to Greene's statement as of publication time. The Department of Defense press office had not issued a comment, and no response was recorded in publicly available Defense Department transcripts or briefing records as of November 11, 2026.

Within the House Democratic caucus, the question of whether to pursue impeachment proceedings against Hegseth or other executive branch officials has not been uniformly resolved. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has kept impeachment off his stated priority list, while Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) has signaled an interest in oversight activity, as this publication reported. Jeffries Keeps Impeachment Off Priority List; Garcia Signals Oversight Push.

For a formal impeachment inquiry to proceed in the new Congress, which convenes in January 2027, the House would need to approve a resolution initiating such proceedings by simple majority vote. The composition of that majority, committee assignments, and the specific articles of impeachment, if any, that would be drafted remain unknown. The Congressional Record for the 120th Congress, once it convenes, would be the governing public document for any such action.

What remains unknown at this stage is whether any current House member has introduced or intends to introduce an impeachment resolution targeting Hegseth, and whether any formal inquiry has been authorized by the incoming House leadership. A search of Congress.gov as of publication shows no active impeachment resolution against Hegseth. That record would change if and when such a resolution is filed with the House clerk.