Could Dems really impeach Hegseth? Here's what would have to happen

• Articles of impeachment are more common for presidents, including President Trump, who was impeached twice in his first term.
• The impeachment rollout against Hegseth comes as the Secretary of Defense contends with a new report about Signalgate, which said he put U.S. forces at risk, and allegations of a follow-up strike against an alleged Venezuelan drug boat.

State of play: Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) announced Wednesday he planned to introduce articles accusing Hegseth of "Murder and Conspiracy to Murder and Reckless and Unlawful Mishandling of Classified Information."

• Democrats don't seem on board with the idea (nor impeachment in general). House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said it is almost impossible for these articles to see the House floor.

So what would have to happen? Here's how the process works and what history tells us.

Why Hegseth impeachment is unlikely

Democrats cannot impeach Hegseth on their own. They'll need Republican votes to force the articles to the floor for a vote.

• If the House did vote on impeachment, GOPers would need to break from party lines for the articles to be sent to the Senate for trial.

Since Republicans control the House and the White House, they'd also have to break from President Trump to impeach one of the his cabinet officials.

• "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," Jeffries said at a Monday press conference.
• "Donald Trump will order them not to do it," he added.

How impeachment usually works

The process of impeachment allows lawmakers to bring charges against government officials.

• Officials can be impeached for treason, bribery and other high crimes.
• Impeachment could lead to a trial and the official may end up being removed from office.

The Constitution gives Congress the power of impeachment.

• The process begins in the House, which introduces the articles of impeachment against an official.
• If the House adopts them via a simple majority vote, the official has been impeached.
• The Senate then holds an impeachment trial. In the case of presidential impeachments, the Supreme Court chief justice presides over it.
• If found guilty by the Senate, the official will be removed from office. In some cases, the official may never be allowed to hold office again.
• If they're found not guilty, the official can continue serving in office.

Impeachments against cabinet secretaries

Only two cabinet secretaries have been impeached in the history of the United States — former War Secretary William Belknap in 1876 and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in 2024.

For Belknap, who served under former President Ulysses Grant, the impeachment came after years of investigation into his lavish lifestyle and acceptance of kickbacks.

• The war secretary allegedly ran to the White House so he could resign just minutes before the House was scheduled to vote on the articles.
• The House still voted unanimously to send five articles of impeachment to the Senate, charging Belknap with "criminally disregarding his duty as Secretary of War and basely prostituting his high office to his lust for private gain."
• The Senate held a vote the following month, claiming it could impeach former government officials. Belknap was acquitted, though.

With Mayorkas, the House voted narrowly to impeach him, 214-213, on two counts, "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" and "breach of public trust."

• The impeachment came over his handling of the an influx of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border. He was accused of providing false statements to Congress and obstructing oversight from Congress and the DHS inspector general.

Zoom in: The Mayorkas impeachment came as Republicans controlled the House, which allowed the party to put the articles on the floor for a vote.

• The Senate ultimately acquitted Mayorkas, a move Democrats described as nothing more than political theater.

Impeachments of presidents

Multiple presidents were impeached in the past, including Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998, and Trump in 2019 and 2021.

• All three remained in office after the Senate acquitted them.
• Congress began the process of impeachment against former President Nixon, but he resigned instead.

More from Axios:

• Signalgate report finds Hegseth potentially put U.S. forces at risk
• Even Republicans say Trump's Signalgate scandal is serious: poll
• Jeffries says not to expect Dems to pursue Hegseth impeachment