Democratic members of Congress have formally introduced articles of impeachment against Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as momentum builds among lawmakers seeking the president’s removal from office over his handling of the Iran conflict — a push that continues regardless of any ceasefire developments.
Rep. John Larson has filed 13 articles of impeachment against Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors, including what he described as “criminal lawlessness” that has “invited blowback against the United States and its citizens risking 9/11 2.0.” The congressman accuses Trump of a “serial usurpation of the congressional war power” and “commission of murder, war crimes and piracy” tied to military actions in Iran, Venezuela and international waters.
His proposal also alleges the president illegally militarized law enforcement and expanded immigration operations in U.S. cities to detain and deport “citizens or immigrants based significantly on race or ethnicity or political opposition.”
“Donald Trump has blown past every requirement to be removed from office. And it’s getting worse,” Larson said in a statement.
“His illegal war in Iran is not only driving up prices for American families — it has cost American lives,” he added. “He’s becoming more unstable by the day.”
The impeachment articles were drafted with input from consumer advocate Ralph Nader and constitutional law scholar Bruce Fein, who argued the war is “flagrantly unconstitutional.” Fein wrote that “Trump’s attack on Iran in partnership with Israel was not in self-defense. It is a criminal war of aggression, plain and simple, including a violation of the United Nations Charter,” urging Congress to “do its job” and act swiftly.
The White House pushed back sharply. Spokesman Davis Ingle dismissed Larson’s proposal as “pathetic.”
“Democrats have been talking about impeaching President Trump since before he was even sworn into office,” he said. “The Democrats in Congress are deranged, weak, and ineffective, which is why their approval ratings are at historic lows.”
Separate impeachment efforts are also targeting Hegseth. Rep. Yassamin Ansari accused him of “repeatedly violating his oath of office and his duty to the Constitution.”
“Only Congress has the power to declare war, not a rogue president or his lackeys,” she said in a statement. “Hegseth’s reckless endangerment of U.S. servicemembers and repeated war crimes, including bombing a girls’ school in Minab, Iran and willfully targeting civilian infrastructure, are grounds for impeachment and removal from office.”
The impeachment drive comes as Trump issued a series of escalating threats toward Iran, including warnings that “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” and earlier demands to “Open the F****’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell.”
Those remarks triggered broader alarm across Washington. At least 87 Democratic lawmakers — and now more than 100 in total — have publicly backed efforts to remove the president, with some calling for the invocation of the 25th Amendment. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote: “Donald Trump’s instability is more clear and dangerous than ever. If the Cabinet is not willing to invoke the 25th Amendment and restore sanity, Republicans must reconvene the Congress to end this war.”
Rep. Jasmine Crockett also urged action in a letter to Vice President JD Vance, claiming the president is “deranged, likely suffering from dementia, and has now brought the United States to the precipice of committing one of the largest war crimes in modern history.”
Despite the mounting backlash, the impeachment efforts face long odds in a Republican-controlled Congress, where Trump maintains strong political loyalty. Still, the growing number of lawmakers signing on underscores intensifying concern over his leadership, particularly as the fallout from the Iran conflict continues to ripple through both domestic politics and global stability.
