Rep. Delia C. Ramirez called for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to be impeached on Tuesday, November 10, issuing a two-sentence demand as congressional scrutiny of the Trump administration’s military operations and the Pentagon chief’s leadership intensifies. The Illinois Democrat’s statement, “We have to impeach Hegseth. It is time to ACT,” places her among lawmakers seeking to use Congress’s constitutional authority to hold the defense secretary accountable.
Ramirez published the statement on X at 8:20 a.m. Eastern time. Her complete post reads:
We have to impeach Hegseth.
It is time to ACT.
The statement contains two distinct demands: that Hegseth be impeached and that lawmakers move beyond criticism toward action. Ramirez did not identify a specific article of impeachment in the post, but her prior public statements and legislative activity establish a record of opposition to the administration’s military interventionism and its handling of congressional war powers.
Ramirez’s Opposition to the Venezuela Operation
On January 3, Ramirez issued a forceful statement condemning the administration’s military operation in Venezuela and the reported seizure of Nicolás Maduro. She characterized the operation as an illegal violation of international and U.S. law and called for Congress to assert its authority over military action.
Ramirez argued that U.S. intervention in Latin America had historically contributed to human rights violations, democratic backsliding and economic destabilization. She also accused the administration of pursuing regime change and Venezuelan oil interests through military force. Her statement explicitly demanded that Congress pass a War Powers Resolution and that Trump be impeached. These were Ramirez’s allegations and political conclusions, rather than judicial findings.
Her Venezuela position is directly relevant to the current impeachment demand because the operation has become one of the allegations in the impeachment resolution introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie. The resolution accuses Hegseth of directing Operation ABSOLUTE RESOLVE to seize Maduro and Cilia Flores without constitutional or legal authority. Those charges remain allegations pending congressional proceedings.
Her Record on the Iran War
Ramirez has also repeatedly supported congressional efforts to terminate U.S. involvement in hostilities with Iran. On March 5, she voted for a War Powers resolution directing the president to remove American forces from the conflict. In a statement released that day, she described the administration’s military intervention as unconstitutional and warned that escalation could draw the United States into another prolonged war.
On September 15, Ramirez again voted in favor of H.Con.Res. 93, a resolution directing the president to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities with Iran. Her official voting record documents support for the measure. The repeated votes show that her opposition to the Iran campaign has extended across several months of congressional debate.
The impeachment push is occurring as Massie’s resolution outlines allegations against Hegseth involving the Iran campaign, civilian casualty protections, military strikes against suspected drug traffickers, retaliation against Sen. Mark Kelly, the Venezuela operation and military action in Yemen. Ramirez’s post does not enumerate these charges, but her earlier opposition to the Iran and Venezuela operations provides documented context for her demand.
The Congressional Accountability Question
The House has the constitutional power to impeach federal civil officers, including the defense secretary. Impeachment itself does not remove an official from office. A conviction in the Senate requires a two-thirds vote of senators present, making removal a substantially higher hurdle than passage of articles in the House.
Reuters reported on November 9 that Massie’s impeachment resolution could receive a House vote this week. The resolution’s allegations include conducting hostilities against Iran without congressional authorization and other alleged abuses of power. Hegseth has rejected the effort, while Trump has publicly defended him.
Ramirez’s November 10 statement is therefore a renewed public demand for congressional action at a moment when impeachment proceedings against Hegseth have become an immediate legislative issue. Her documented record on Iran and Venezuela shows that her opposition to the defense secretary is tied to disputes over military authority, congressional oversight and the legality of the administration’s operations.