FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 09, 2026
November 09, 2026
Contact:
Tim Kauffman
202-374-6491
[email protected]
AFGE Urges House to Impeach Defense Secretary Hegseth
Categories:
DoD, Congress
Hegseth has violated law by waging unauthorized war, terminating workers’ union contracts
WASHINGTON – The American Federation of Government Employees is urging Congress to remove Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from office over repeated violations of the law, including waging an unauthorized war against Iran and terminating labor contracts covering more than 250,000 civilian employees represented by the union.
In a Nov. 9 letter to members of the U.S. House, AFGE National President Everett Kelley urges lawmakers to support a resolution of impeachment introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie.
By directing the war in Iran without prior Congressional approval, Hegseth violated the oath he took to support and defend the Constitution and in the process has risked the lives of thousands of military personnel, as well as countless civilian employees who support our military on the frontlines, Kelley wrote.
“He has continued to flout the law by refusing to obey Congress’s express direction in June to terminate unauthorized hostilities against Iran. His illegal supervision of the hostilities has, so far, cost the lives of at least 21 service members and resulted in close to 900 injuries. This grim tally must not increase,” Kelley wrote.
In addition, Hegseth issued a memo in April directing DoD agencies and components to terminate all collective bargaining agreements with AFGE – following President Trump’s illegal orders from last year stripping more than one million federal employees of their union rights.
“Over the past year and a half, Mr. Hegseth has abused the authority of his office by illegally terminating workplace rights and protections for DoD civilian employees, many of whom are military veterans,” Kelley wrote in his letter. “These patriots have been silenced, unable to voice legitimate concerns about Mr. Hegseth’s conduct of the war in Iran without fear of political retaliation and job loss. The deprivation of their rights has harmed – not helped – our country’s national security. As legal challenges wend their way through the courts, the best hope for the swift restoration of the rule of law at the Department of Defense is for the House to impeach Mr. Hegseth and refer him to the Senate for removal from office.”
Written by OPEIU 2 AFL-CIO
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