Rep. Thomas Massie is pressing President Trump to fire Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth before a House impeachment vote, calling the move the honorable path for the administration.

The Kentucky Republican posted the demand on X as House leaders kept an impeachment showdown off the floor and pushed any vote into the lame-duck session after the midterms.

Yahoo News reported that Massie wants Hegseth gone first, arguing a presidential firing would spare the defense secretary a formal impeachment fight in the House.

Massie framed the choice in plain terms.

In his post, he wrote:

"Trump should fire Hegseth to avoid Hegseth's impeachment. It's the honorable thing to do,"

That appeal lands from inside the GOP, but not from its center. Massie is an outgoing congressman who often breaks with party leadership and lost Kentucky’s Republican primary this year to Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein.

Impeachment articles already on the table

Massie first introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth in September. He charged the Pentagon chief on the House floor with “high crimes and misdemeanors” and accused him of abusing the powers of the Department of Defense.

The core claim is constitutional. Massie says Hegseth launched an illegal war in Iran without congressional approval. He had already pushed a war powers resolution meant to limit presidential military action there.

Rising U.S. soldier casualties in Iran have fueled the dispute on Capitol Hill. The reporting does not give specific casualty counts, dates, or unit details.

House GOP leaders then delayed the impeachment vote that had been slotted for September. The contest now sits in the lame-duck session, after voters decide control of the chamber.

That delay tracks earlier maneuvering when House GOP leaders sent lawmakers home early and sidestepped a Hegseth impeachment vote.

Johnson rejects claims of a political stall

Democrats accused Republicans of stalling to protect vulnerable candidates. Massie made a similar charge about the calendar.

He said the House recessed early to dodge the vote and vowed to bring the articles back no matter how the midterms end.

Massie stated:

"The House recessed early to avoid the vote, so I will reintroduce Hegseth articles of impeachment when we return for the lame duck session, regardless of the outcome of the midterm election,"

House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana dismissed the politics claim. He called the accusations “ridiculous.”

Pressure on Hegseth has not come only from Massie. Separate reporting has covered how Democrats lined up impeachment threats as a possible midterm power shift drew closer.

Iran policy sits at the center of the fight

Massie’s case turns on war powers. He argues the Iran campaign moved ahead without a vote from Congress, and he wants accountability at the Pentagon for that decision.

Hegseth, as defense secretary, is the official Massie has put in the dock. The articles target his conduct at the Department of Defense, not a general policy critique from the House minority alone.

Unverified reporting has claimed President Trump blamed Hegseth for the unpopular Iran war and weighed removing him after the midterms. That account has not been independently confirmed in the available record.

Other Republicans have also aired frustration with the Pentagon chief, including when Tillis demanded Trump fire Hegseth after the Army secretary’s resignation.

A weakened messenger inside the GOP

Massie’s own standing shapes how the demand reads. He is finishing out his term after a primary loss to Gallrein, a challenger who had Trump’s backing in Kentucky.

He has long cast himself as a skeptic of leadership deals and expansive executive war-making. The impeachment drive and the call to fire Hegseth fit that record more than a broad conference revolt.

Hegseth’s tenure has drawn scrutiny on multiple fronts beyond Iran, from personnel fights such as a planned 20% cut to general and admiral posts to earlier public controversies over his online responses.

None of that resolves Massie’s central charge. He wants a firing before ballots are cast on impeachment, and he says he will force the issue again when the House returns.

Johnson’s position remains that the schedule fight is not a political rescue mission. Massie’s position remains that Hegseth should already be gone.

Trump now faces an explicit request from a Republican member of the House: remove the defense secretary on terms Massie calls honorable, or watch an impeachment push resume in the lame duck whether or not the GOP holds the chamber.

Party rebels can force a headline. Voters, and the president who won the primary fight in Kentucky, still decide what the party actually does with it.