SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
impeachment
Calls Grow for Impeachment of Hegseth for 'Murder,' Even as Jeffries Dumps Cold Water on the Idea
"Impeachment is how Congress must check an out-of-control official who abuses his power," said Win Without War.
Dec 05, 2025
A House Democrat has formally introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his role in the extrajudicial execution of two survivors of one of President Donald Trump's Caribbean boat bombings.
Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) introduced articles of impeachment on Thursday against Hegseth for "murder" and "conspiracy to murder."
"He gave direct, unlawful orders to kill every single person on a civilian boat from Venezuela, violating the Defense Department’s Law of War Manual,” Thanedar said.
He also introduced an article for Hegseth's "mishandling of classified information, leaking war plans in a Signal chat which included sensitive operations details, including target systems and attack times," which "has put American lives at risk," referring to war plans about an airstrike in Yemen that were accidentally spilled to Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg earlier this year.
Investigations have been opened in both the House and Senate over the past week regarding the events of September 2, when 11 people were killed in a pair of airstrikes that would become the first of nearly two dozen so far.
The administration alleges that these attacks have been against "narcoterrorists" bringing drugs to the US, who are therefore lawful combatants, but has offered scant evidence. In total, at least 83 people have been killed across nearly two dozen strikes since September.
While the entire boat bombing campaign is almost certainly illegal regardless, the "double-tap" aspect of the September 2 bombing has drawn attention, as attacking those no longer in the fight is blatantly illegal under both international and US law.
The firestorm was ignited after the Washington Post and CNN both reported late last week that Hegseth had given direct orders to "kill them all" as survivors of the first bombing clung to life amid the boat's wreckage. Hegseth has denied these reports, but his account of events has shifted violently. After claiming at the time he watched the operation "live," he now says he was not in the room during the second bombing.
After initially denying that a second bombing took place at all, the White House has since shifted blame onto Adm. Frank "Mitch" Bradley, who testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday that Hegseth had not ordered the killing directly, according to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a staunch supporter of the bombing campaign.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that the second bombing was part of a “contingency plan” authorized by Hegseth, who approved the killing of survivors if they appeared to be radioing for help from other alleged cartel members, which would mean they still could theoretically pose a threat.
This was the defense Bradley used on Capitol Hill Thursday, a rationale that one source with direct knowledge of the briefing told CNN was “fucking insane."
Members of Congress were also shown a video of the attack, which House Intelligence Chairman, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said was “one of the most troubling things” he'd ever seen. Cotton, meanwhile, said there was no evidence in the footage that a radio had even been used, further undercutting the White House’s rationale.
Despite the increasing number of Democrats who've accused Hegseth of authorizing a "war crime," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has neglected to push the issue of impeachment, saying earlier this week that it's almost impossible that articles would reach the House floor with a Republican majority.
"Republicans will never allow articles of impeachment to be brought to the floor of the House of Representatives, and we know that's the case," he said. "Donald Trump will order them not to do it."
But just five Republicans would need to join Democrats in order to force an impeachment vote to the floor, and some are reportedly dissatisfied with the White House's answers.
Sen. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, which recently launched an investigation into the strikes, said on Thursday that "members are very concerned" about the accuracy of the information being shared with Congress. Turner previously said that if Hegseth indeed ordered the execution of survivors, "that would be very serious, and I agree that that would be an illegal act.”
Even if Hegseth were impeached, his removal from office would be an even greater uphill battle in the Senate, where 20 Republicans would need to join every Democrat and vote to convict him.
But there has also been some sharp criticism from Republicans there. Some has come from longtime critics of the boat bombing campaign, like Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.). The libertarian senator said on Friday that Hegseth himself should be put under oath.
“I think if the public sees images of people clinging to boat debris and being blown up, I think that there is a chance that, finally, the public will get interested enough in this to stop this," Paul said. "And I think that Congress, if they had any kind of gumption at all, would not be allowing this administration to summarily execute people that are suspected of a crime.”
Earlier this week, Paul questioned Hegseth's ever-changing version of events: "Secretary Hegseth said he had no knowledge of this, and it did not happen. It was fake news. It didn’t happen. And then the next day, from the podium of the White House, they’re saying it did happen. Either he was lying to us on Sunday, or he’s incompetent.”
As The Hill reported on Friday, several other GOP senators, including those who usually defend Trump, have also expressed a queasiness about the strikes.
Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV) said he is “not comfortable with the two blow” and called a missile attack on “defenseless survivors” in the water “unacceptable.” If the reports are accurate, he said, “someone needs to get out of Washington.”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) called Hegseth's denial of the strike "bush league" and suggested the secretary had "undermine[d] [his] credibility."
Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) have each said that targeting survivors of the ship would be a violation of international law.
While Jeffries has not responded directly to Thanedar's impeachment articles, he'll also have to contend with rising pressure from the grassroots of the Democratic Party, which has begun to agitate for a formal vote.
On Thursday, the group Win Without War launched a campaign to send letters to every member of Congress demanding the impeachment of Hegseth. They noted that the senators who launched the Senate Armed Services investigation, Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI), "are demanding answers."
"But answers aren’t enough," the group said. "We knew Hegseth was unfit to serve during his nomination process, and every day since, he’s only proved us right. Impeachment is how Congress must check an out-of-control official who abuses his power, undermines the rule of law, and actively harms communities here and abroad."
So far, the effort, backed by several other progressive organizations—including Common Dreams—has sent nearly 18,000 letters to members of Congress. A similar effort has also been launched by the Democratic Coalition, a SuperPAC that describes itself as "one of the nation's largest grassroots progressive organizations."
"He must be impeached for these illegal killings," the group said.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Plurality of Swing-State Voters Backs Trump Impeachment for Attacks on Constitution: Poll
“This is an existential moment for our nation and our democracy," said one progressive campaigner. "We either have a Constitution, or we don’t."
Sep 25, 2025
A new poll has found that a plurality of voters in swing districts supports impeaching US President Donald Trump, with 45% saying that they would strongly support removing him from office.
The poll, which was conducted by Lake Research Partners on behalf of progressive advocacy organization Free Speech for People, found that 49% of voters across 17 swing congressional districts supported impeaching Trump, with 44% of voters in those districts opposed.
The intensity of support for impeaching Trump was also notable, as the 45% who strongly supported removing him from office was higher than the total number of people who opposed removing him.
The poll also showed that Trump is broadly unpopular, with just 40% of voters in swing districts approving of the job he's doing and 56% expressing opposition. Fifty-four percent of respondents in these districts said they strongly opposed Trump—nearly 20 points higher than the 35% of respondents who said they strongly supported him.
John Bonifaz, president and co-counder of Free Speech For People, said that the poll results showed that many Americans understand the grave danger posed by the president to democracy and the rule of law.
“This is an existential moment for our nation and our democracy. We either have a Constitution, or we don't," he said. “Donald Trump has already engaged in multiple abuses of power. We demand that our elected officials in Congress carry out the mandate of their oath to protect the Constitution at this critical time by standing up and demanding impeachment proceedings against this lawless president."
Free Speech for People has been keeping a running tally of what it says are impeachable actions by the president, including deploying the National Guard to carry out law enforcement functions in two American cities; firing a federal prosecutor who said that there was insufficient evidence to support criminal charges against three of the president's political opponents; encouraging Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr to threaten media companies with the loss of their broadcast licenses; and his use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to "violate the rights of American residents and citizens, disrupt our communities, and silence his political opponents."
Courtney Hostetler, legal director at Free Speech For People, said that all of these actions show "Trump is actively dismantling the public institutions and constitutional protections that safeguard our democracy," and added that the president's "assault on the Constitution and the rule of law are purposeful, and they are impeachable."
Free Speech for People said Wednesday that at least one million people have signed a petition the group helped organize, demanding Trump's impeachment for "his high crimes against the state."
Trump was impeached twice in his first presidential term, once for asking the president of Ukraine to investigate his political opponent and once for inciting the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Keep ReadingShow Less
White House to Vet Smithsonian Exhibits to Ensure They 'Align With Trump's Interpretation' of US History'
Smithsonian exhibits should be "accurate, patriotic, and enlightening—ensuring they remain places of learning, wonder, and national pride for generations to come," the White House demanded.
Aug 12, 2025
The Wall Street Journal reports on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump's White House is keeping an eye on the Smithsonian Museum to ensure that its exhibits on display for the United States' 250th anniversary "align with" the president's personal "interpretation of American history."
According to the Journal, the administration this week sent a letter to the Smithsonian announcing it was seeking what the paper describes as a "far-reaching review" of its "museum exhibitions, materials and operations" that will include everything from "public-facing exhibition text and online content to internal curatorial processes, exhibition planning, the use of collections and artist grants."
The goal of the review is to ensure the materials comply with an executive order Trump signed earlier this year that called for "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History."
The letter obtained by the Journal was signed by White House senior associate Lindsey Halligan, and it instructed the museum that its exhibits should be "accurate, patriotic, and enlightening—ensuring they remain places of learning, wonder, and national pride for generations to come."
In his original executive order, Trump accused the Smithsonian of having "come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology” that promotes “narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive," and he demanded a stop to the promotion of this "improper ideology."
Earlier this month, it was reported that the Smithsonian removed references to Trump's two impeachments from its exhibit on the history of presidential impeachments in the United States. The museum returned references to Trump's impeachments last week but removed mentions of the president making "repeated 'false statements' challenging the 2020 election results" that led to "imminent lawless action at the Capitol" by his supporters on January 6, 2021.
Instead, the label on Trump's second impeachment now reads as follows: "On January 13, 2021, Donald Trump became the first president to be impeached twice. The charge was incitement of insurrection based on his challenge of the 2020 election results and on his speech on January 6. Because Trump's term ended on January 20, he became the first former president tried by the Senate. He was acquitted on February 13, 2021."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular