A House Democrat has moved to impeach self-styled “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth for his fumbling of the war with Iran.
Arizona Democrat Rep. Yassamin Ansari blasted Defense Secretary Hegseth, whom President Donald Trump credits with being the main cheerleader for the conflict, for what she called “repeated war crimes.”
Ansari, whose parents fled Iran to settle in the United States after the Islamic Revolution, said in a statement released on Monday that she will introduce articles of impeachment against Hegseth next week for “repeatedly violating his oath of office and his duty to the Constitution.”
“Hegseth’s reckless endangerment of U.S. servicemembers and repeated war crimes… are grounds for impeachment and removal from office,” she added.
Ansari did not specify what “war crimes” Hegseth may be guilty of, but the defense secretary has been criticized for a missile strike on an Iranian elementary school that is thought to have killed at least 175 people, most of them children.
Trump, however, has said he is not concerned about international humanitarian law.
“I’m not worried about it,” Trump told a press conference on Monday when pressed for a response regarding concerns about targeting Iranian civilian infrastructure. “You know the war crime? The war crime is allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
“Trump is escalating a devastating, illegal war, threatening massive war crimes and targeting civilian infrastructure in Iran. In the last 48 hours alone, the rhetoric has crossed every line. Pete Hegseth is complicit,” Ansari wrote in a post on X.
Ansari is ultimately aiming higher than Hegseth. She has called for Trump’s Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from office, citing his “deranged statements” about the war.
Perhaps his most unhinged statement of late was a frustrated missive aimed at the Iranian regime on Easter Sunday. “Open the F----n’ Strait [of Hormuz], you crazy b-----ds, or you’ll be living in Hell — JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah,” he raged.
“The 25th Amendment exists for a reason; his Cabinet should use it. The fate of U.S. troops, the Iranian people, and the very foundation of our global system are at stake,” Ansari said.
With Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress—and a two-thirds Senate majority required to convict an executive official on impeachment charges—Ansari’s effort is unlikely to succeed. However, it points to growing dismay with Trump’s war.
An Ipsos poll conducted March 13–15 shows Americans still view U.S. military strikes against Iran negatively, with disapproval far exceeding approval. Concerns span from risks to service members’ lives to the potential financial impact at home. Overall, 58 percent disapprove of the strikes, compared with 38 percent who approve.
Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson claimed that Ansari was simply playing politics with her move.
“During an ongoing military operation in the Middle East and on the heels of the two most daring and successful rescue operations in military history, this is just another Democrat trying to make headlines,” Wilson told the Daily Beast.
“Secretary Hegseth will continue to protect the homeland and unleash epic fury on Iran’s radical regime,” Wilson added. “This is just another charade in an attempt to distract the American people from the major successes we have had here at the Department of War.”
