Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) announced Wednesday that he plans to introduce articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, referencing a resurfaced 2016 remark on war crimes as questions mount over a U.S. military strike that killed survivors of a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean.
In a post to X on Wednesday, Rep. Shri Thanedar shared a report from the Hill highlighting 2016 remarks by now-Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in which Hegseth observed, “I do think there have to be consequences for abject war crimes.” Thanedar added his own comment: “I agree, this is why I’ll be introducing articles of impeachment against Secretary Hegseth.”
The 2016 video, first reported by CNN and later detailed by the Hill, features Hegseth speaking at an event hosted by the Liberty Forum of Silicon Valley. “If you’re doing something that is just completely unlawful and ruthless, then there is a consequence for that,” Hegseth said at the time, referring to the military’s obligation to refuse unlawful orders. “There’s a standard, there’s an ethos,” he added, describing the moral framework guiding the U.S. armed forces.
Thanedar’s impeachment effort centers on a U.S. military operation on September 2 that targeted an alleged Venezuelan drug boat in the Caribbean. The initial strike destroyed the vessel, and a follow-up strike reportedly killed survivors from the first attack. While the White House maintained that Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Frank Bradley to carry out the operation, it stated that the admiral gave the direct order for the second strike. Hegseth told reporters that he watched the first strike live but did not remain for what followed, saying, “I moved on to my next meeting.”
The articles of impeachment, which Thanedar plans to formally unveil Thursday morning during a rally at Union Station in Washington, DC, will reportedly accuse Hegseth of “Murder and Conspiracy to Murder and Reckless and Unlawful Mishandling of Classified Information,” according to a press advisory from his office obtained by Axios.
While one senior Democrat predicted that “outside groups will support” Thanedar’s impeachment effort, the announcement has so far received little backing from Democratic leadership. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) dismissed the possibility of impeachment proceeding in the Republican-controlled House, telling reporters earlier this week, “Republicans will never allow articles of impeachment to be brought to the floor… Donald Trump will order them not to do it.” Jeffries added, “It is my understanding that Pete Hegseth, the so-called secretary of defense, was absolutely involved. I think he may have even recently acknowledged that because the facts are incapable of being disputed.”
He reiterated his view that Hegseth should resign but emphasized that a meaningful bipartisan investigation is what remains “on the table.”
A growing number of Democrats have denounced the September strike. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), a former JAG officer, stated, “Killing shipwrecked survivors is a war crime.” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) argued the initial strike was “either a war crime or murder,” depending on the administration’s legal theory. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) called Hegseth “a walking, talking national security embarrassment” and urged his resignation. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) claimed Hegseth is “the most unqualified secretary of defense we’ve ever had in the history of our country, by far,” and described classified briefings on the strike as evasive.
Amid mounting criticism, Hegseth has doubled down on the administration’s strategy. At a recent cabinet meeting, he emphasized the U.S. has “only just begun striking narco boats,” characterizing the operations as essential to dismantling what he identified as terrorist networks poisoning Americans. He maintained that all actions were legal and that commanders made difficult decisions in the field. “We always have the back of our commanders,” Hegseth said.
Despite the firestorm, Thanedar may face challenges rallying Democratic colleagues to his cause. One senior House Democrat told Axios, “It’s Shri… someone who people respect will have to do a real one if that happens.” Thanedar has previously introduced multiple impeachment resolutions, including against President Donald Trump, often without support from party leadership.
Thanedar’s impeachment announcement follows a similar move in September by Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), who introduced articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over what she labeled “health care chaos” under his leadership. Secretary Hegseth would not be the first Secretary of War to face impeachment, because in 1876 the House unanimously adopted and sent to the Senate five articles of impeachment against Secretary William Belknap for a long-running bribery scheme.
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