House Democrats filed six articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, accusing the defense security of “high crimes and misdemeanors”, in reference to the attack on Iran without congressional authorization and deadly strikes on suspected drug smuggling boats, among other official acts.

The move comes as the Trump administration faces mounting scrutiny over recent foreign action, particularly the war with Iran.

In Wednesday’s resolution, Yassamin Ansari, a Democratic congresswoman from Arizona, and colleagues including John Larson of Connecticut accused Hegseth of disregarding rules to minimize civilian casualties during armed conflict.

The US may have been responsible for a March strike on a school in Iran that left at least 175 individuals dead, including children, according to a New York Times report.

The House Democrats also pointed at a growing number of boat strikes in the Caribbean. The military has repeatedly sought to frame individuals on the vessels as “narco-terrorists”.

House Democrats also accused Hegseth of compromising national security through “careless and improper conduct”, citing an episode where classified information was shared on Signal in 2025.

The defense secretary was embroiled in controversy last year after the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a Signal group chat about a planned airstrike on Houthi fighters in Yemen. Hegseth, vice-president JD Vance, and CIA director John Ratcliffe were also in the chat.

The articles also continued on to include Hegesth’s “efforts to withhold material facts relating to civilian casualties and operational conduct in Iran and Venezuela”; his attempt to punish the senator Mark Kelly, a retired US navy captain, for reminding service members that they can refuse illegal orders; and forcing transgender service members from the military.

“Pete Hegseth did not follow his oath to the US constitution,” Ansari told the reporter Pablo Manríquez. “He committed a war crime in Iran with the attack on a school that killed over 160 children. So not only do we need to end this war, but we need to hold accountable and prosecute anyone in the US administration who may have committed war crimes.”

“Pete Hegseth has been committing crimes and violating his oath,” Ansari added. “So I have no doubt that if this absolute clown – this former Fox News, not even a real anchor – continues in his position, there will be more, and we will get more support and I urge my colleagues to join me. He is a national security risk to the United States.”

Kingsley Wilson, spokesperson for the Pentagon, dismissed the articles of impeachment as an attention-seeking bid.

“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,” Wilson said in a statement to Axios.

It’s unlikely the articles of impeachment will clear Congress, given the Republican majority in the Senate and the House.