WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers are looking to impeach embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as soon as next week, an effort that’s gained momentum after the Iran war he championed partly led to Republicans losing control of Congress in the midterms.

Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican and frequent critic of President Donald Trump, told Bloomberg News he will “definitely” reintroduce articles of impeachment when the chamber returns next week.

The move follows Massie’s earlier effort to impeach Hegseth — for waging the Iran war without congressional approval — and amid widespread speculation that Hegseth’s job is on the line.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Trump said Hegseth had done a “fantastic job,” and said he “probably has opposition” because of his crackdown on Pentagon diversity initiatives.

And Hegseth on Thursday posted a six-minute video on X defending his tenure, and noting that Massie, who he described as a “disgruntled, defeated congressman,” has filed “sham articles of impeachment against yours truly.”

Massie, who lost his primary after Trump backed a challenger, suggested on Thursday that Trump fire Hegseth quickly so that the Republican-controlled Senate can confirm his successor. Confirmation would become far more difficult once Democrats take control in January.

“My Hegseth impeachment resolution is a much gentler version of what’s coming when Dem’s control Congress. They’ll have hearings & trials,” Massie wrote in a social media post on Thursday.

Impeachment by the House would force the Senate to immediately begin a time-consuming trial of Hegseth unless the GOP musters the votes to set the matter aside. Such a vote would put lawmakers on record supporting the secretary just after voters rebuked the GOP over the unpopular Iran war.

Massie’s bid to impeach Hegseth is expected to get widespread Democratic support, and possibly enough Republican support for it to pass.

Republicans who lost this week may have no incentive to return to Washington during the lame duck session, which would add to the margin of votes of members who support his impeachment.

From the moment Trump nominated him, Hegseth — a former National Guardsman and Fox News host — has been a lightning rod for criticism, with lawmakers arguing he was unqualified and unfit to lead the world’s most powerful military. Hegseth was narrowly confirmed, and Trump has consistently backed him publicly.

But his prominent role as the main cabinet member in charge of the Iran war now leaves him exposed, given the conflict torpedoed Republicans in the midterm vote.

And Hegseth has few allies. Throughout the war, his relationship with Congress deteriorated after combative hearings and accusations that he’s refused to share information with oversight committees, including about the costs of the conflict.

Championing the unpopular conflict in Iran as Hegseth has done may now be a political liability. In a social media post on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance blamed the Republicans’ midterm wipeout squarely on the conflict.

“The reason we lost is the war,” Vance said in an X post Wednesday. “If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so.”

Trump has insisted after the loss that he has no plans to oust Hegseth, saying he’s done a “good job.”

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(With assistance from Hadriana Lowenkron.)

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