U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends a cabinet meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 2, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is now facing an impeachment push from a Democratic member of the House of Representatives, who is accusing him of committing murder.

Axios' Andrew Solender reported Wednesday that Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) will be officially unveiling articles of impeachment against the embattled Pentagon chief during an event at Union Station in Washington D.C. on Thursday morning. Thanedar is introducing the legislation alongside a group that has been carrying out a sustained 24-hour, daily protest against President Donald Trump's administration.

"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has committed war crimes through his military strikes in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific Ocean and his reckless and unlawful handling of classified information," a statement accompanying the announcement read.

According to the statement, Thanedar's impeachment legislation accuses Hegseth of "murder," "conspiracy to murder" and "reckless and unlawful handling of classified information." The Michigan Democrat has previously filed articles of impeachment against Trump alleging obstruction of justice and abuse of executive power, as well as usurpation of appropriations power and abuse of trade powers, among others.

Hegseth has been the target of Congressional probes this week after the Washington Post reported that he ordered the killing of two survivors left adrift following a September 2, 2025 boat strike in the Caribbean Sea. The White House didn't deny the attack occurred, but clarified that Admiral Frank M. Bradley was the commander of that mission and officially gave the order to carry out the secondary strike on the two survivors.

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) stipulates that anyone deemed hors de combat (French for "out of the fight") is to be spared from further attacks. IHL also prohibits "no-quarter" orders, in which survivors of an attack are declared to be non-combatants. Former judge Advocate General Corps (JAG) officer Dan Maurer told CNN this week that if the Post's reporting is true, then Hegseth and everyone involved in the chain of command for the September 2 mission committed "murder." Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who is a retired Air Force brigadier general, also called on Trump to fire Hegseth.

The defense secretary was also singled out on Wednesday after the Pentagon's Office of the Inspector General found that his sharing of classified information via the Signal messaging app endangered the lives of U.S. troops. Hegseth accidentally included Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg on a group text in which he shared sensitive details about air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.