Hakeem Jeffries is ready to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, even as hundreds of thousands of people are trying to stop the Democratic leader from becoming the next House speaker.
“I’m a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution,” Jeffries declared on Sunday during ABC’s This Week.
“The so-called secretary of defense has abused his power, undermined our national security and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran,” he added. “Pete Hegseth has got to go.”
Hard Yes on the Hegseth impeachment resolution. https://t.co/eZgg41CqCb
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) November 8, 2026
His announcement follows Democrats’ sweeping midterm victories and comes as Republican Rep. Thomas Massie prepares to force an impeachment vote.
A Change.org petition circulating online urging lawmakers to reject his speakership had collected more than 666,000 signatures by Friday and now has over one million. Actor Mark Ruffalo also shared the campaign, encouraging Americans to demand new leadership.
Hegseth, meanwhile, is struggling with public approval. A September Quinnipiac poll found 57% of voters disapproved of his performance, compared with 32% who approved.
Hegseth has dismissed the impeachment effort as a “sham.”
Despite the petition, Jeffries remains the favorite to take the speaker’s gavel in January.
