Pete Hegseth Faces Growing Impeachment Talk After Midterms as Thom Tillis Warns of a 'Reckoning'

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing renewed talk of impeachment and investigations after Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections, and one of his sharpest Republican critics, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, says Hegseth “has a reckoning” coming.

The Pentagon pushed back hard on Wednesday, Nov. 4. “Secretary Hegseth will not back down or be deterred by politicians seeking to score partisan points or launch phony investigations where no wrongdoing exists,” chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told Military.com.

What Thom Tillis said about Hegseth

Tillis, an outgoing Republican senator who voted to confirm Hegseth in January 2025, made the comments to CBS News. Military.com reported that he spoke on Tuesday, election night, while Anadolu Agency described the remarks as coming on Wednesday.

“Hegseth has a reckoning,” Tillis said, according to Anadolu Agency. “He is one of the reasons why we don’t have the funding or guarantee for defense that we need.”

Tillis has turned on Hegseth over the past year. He has called his confirmation vote “the biggest regret” of his career, and last month he urged President Donald Trump to replace him. “I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country,” Tillis wrote on X at the time. “I urge the president to find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it.”

Could Hegseth be impeached?

Impeachment talk has been building for months, but the election results gave it new attention. Here is where things stand, based on the reporting:

• Massie’s push: Outgoing Republican Rep. Thomas Massie previously introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth, Military.com reported, before Speaker Mike Johnson called a recess that delayed any proceedings. Anadolu Agency reported that Massie is pushing for a House vote later this month or in December.
• Democrats in the House: Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, has said in the past that he favors impeaching both Hegseth and Trump over the Iran war, according to Military.com.
• Timing: The new Democratic majorities do not take power until January. Until then, Republicans still control both chambers.

Impeachment in the House would only be a first step. Removing a Cabinet official through impeachment requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate, and even with Democrats in charge next year they will be well short of that number on their own. No vote has been scheduled, and it is not clear whether one will happen.

Why Hegseth is under pressure

Much of the criticism centers on Hegseth’s role in the Iran war, which began with U.S. strikes on Feb. 28. Exit polling suggested the war, and the higher gas and grocery prices that followed, played a major role in Democrats’ gains, Military.com reported. Hegseth has also faced criticism over earlier mistakes, including the accidental sharing of war plans on the encrypted app Signal.

Funding is the other pressure point. Democrats have threatened to block $70 billion in emergency military funding and the annual defense spending bill while the war continues, Anadolu Agency reported. Tillis argued that Hegseth himself has become an obstacle to getting that money.

The Pentagon’s response

Parnell’s statement to Military.com said the department “has followed the law” and that Hegseth “will continue to stand and fight every single day to support and defend the Constitution, lead our troops, and protect America.”

“We will continue to drive President Trump’s agenda at the Department of War, despite threats of sham witch hunts from Democrats, and Secretary Hegseth is 100% committed to leading the department until the end of President Trump’s term in office,” Parnell said.

Advocacy group calls for impeachment

Mikey Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, told Military.com that hundreds of service members who are clients of his group called on election night and into Wednesday. He said they “absolutely want to see Hegseth impeached,” and the foundation is calling for immediate impeachment. Those calls come from an advocacy group and do not represent an official military position.

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