Bacon plans to vote ‘no’ on Hegseth impeachment

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said he plans to vote against adopting articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ahead of the Tuesday afternoon vote in the House.

The Nebraska Republican, who did not seek reelection in 2026, said he has his own problems with Hegseth that are not named in the impeachment articles.

“I don’t really align with the impeachment itself,” Bacon told reporters Tuesday. “If we talk about firing 80 generals and not spending appropriated money, I’d feel a little differently about it.”

“I have separate complaints about the secretary that’s not in the impeachment,” Hegseth said.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) announced articles of impeachment against Hegseth Monday, arguing that he violated the Constitution by fighting the war in Iran without congressional authorization. Other articles accuse him of breaking the law through U.S. military strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and retaliating against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) for telling servicemembers not to follow illegal orders.

Hegseth responded in a news conference at the Pentagon Tuesday morning, calling Massie a “disgruntled and defeated congressman” and saying the impeachment is “a political spectacle.” Massie lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger earlier this year.

But with Republicans controlling the House until January, Tuesday’s impeachment vote needs at least a few Republicans to vote with Democrats for the resolution to succeed.

As a retiring member who is sometimes critical of the Trump administration, Bacon is a key vote that could be decisive. Another retiring Republican, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), said Tuesday that she would not vote to impeach either, even as she has been very critical of the Iran war.

“I will not be voting to impeach,” Mace wrote on the social platform X. “The Iran war is through no fault of his own and he should not be the one scapegoated for it. I fully support the changes Hegseth has made to the [Defense Department] to make our fighting force the very best it can be.”

Bacon said one reason he is not voting to impeach is because he wants the U.S. “to win in Iran.”

“I want us to win in Iran,” Bacon said. “Iran’s been killing us for 47 years. I have a different perspective than Massie on this.”

Even if the vote fails, Democrats could easily impeach Hegseth when their sizable majority is sworn in Jan. 3. If Hegseth is impeached in the House, two-thirds of senators are needed to convict and remove him from office.