Impeachment isn’t just for presidents, and at least four members of the Trump Administration could face action when the next Congress is sworn in. These individuals already have articles of impeachment filed against them, but with a Republican-controlled legislature, there has been no action on the resolutions. In January, that could change.
Pete Hegseth and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are both at the top of the list of individuals who could face impeachment hearings. Linda McMahon and Russel Vought are also potentially on the chopping block — but in truth, a more Democratic Congress could potentially go after almost anyone in Donald Trump’s Administration.
These four just happen to be the ones for whom the first step has already been taken.
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense
Articles of impeachment have been filed against Hegseth three separate times, including one by a fellow Republican, Thomas Massie.
Massie accuses Hegseth of illegally opening hostilities with Iran and Yemen without Congressional approval; continuing with hostilities in Iran after Congress voted otherwise; directing strikes on vessels at sea alleged to be involved in drug-smuggling; weaponizing the government against Senator Mark Kelly for stating that service members have a legal obligation to reject unlawful orders; and directing the kidnapping of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, which Massie describes as:
“…an act of war against a sovereign country executed under the guise of narcotics law enforcement, though in actuality intended to assert U.S. control over Venezuela’s oil reserves.”
In September 2026, Massie vowed to force a vote on the resolution to impeach Hegseth, forcing his fellow Members of Congress to publicly take a stand one way or the other. Instead, House Speaker Mike Johnson ended the Congressional session early, and the body will reconvene on November 9th.
Representative Shri Thanedar had already filed articles of impeachment in late 2025, accusing Pete Hegseth of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. This was for a strike against a boat carrying 11 people, “more likely indicative of migrants than of drug smuggling,” and not headed for the United States; and a second strike to kill two survivors seen clinging to the wreckage.
Yet another resolution, filed in April 2026, would have impeached Hegseth for unauthorized war against Iran; targeting civilians; and the negligent and reckless handling of sensitive military data, among other allegations.
Though none of these resolutions has made progress under a Republican-dominated Congress, the new Congress could choose to move forward on them right away, after swearing-in in January.
Fox News is reporting that some GOP members are fed up enough with Hegseth that an impeachment could be successful.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services
Kennedy was a polarizing figure well before Trump appointed him as Secretary of Health & Human Services. He initially launched his own presidential campaign, before ending it and joining with Donald Trump.
His campaign leaned heavily on health-related conspiracy theories, and once Trump was ensconced in office, he appointed Kennedy to a position directly connected to those claims.
In a December 2025 resolution, Representative Haley Stevens accuses Kennedy of carrying out a reduction in force (firings) that was detrimental to public health, and lying about it to Congress; additional terminations across health agencies that have reduced Congressional oversight; promoting medications for unproven and unsupported off-label use (specifically, using a chemotherapy drug to treat autism); and endangering lives through further cuts.
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shuttered programs and research grant funding dedicated to improving childhood health (including cancelling research of childhood cancer), ended NIH participation in efforts to reduce sudden infant death syndrome, and reduced capacity to monitor maternal and infant health.”
Other cuts cited affect vaccine development, AIDS treatment, foodborne illness tracking, and pandemic preparedness. Taken together with his public comments promoting unsupported claims regarding autism, AIDS, cancer, measles, and more, the filing alleges that Kennedy “has imperiled the health and safety of the American people, eroded public confidence in the Nation’s public health institutions, and diminished decades of scientific and medical progress.”
This document was referred to a committee and left to stagnate, but could be revived if Congress gets the message that their constituents want the top health official in the nation to use evidence-based policies and focus on improving public health, rather than reducing it.
Linda M. McMahon, Secretary of Education
While Hegseth’s position might be in the most immediate danger, and Kennedy faces plenty of public scrutiny, Linda McMahon also faces serious allegations involving harm to the American people.
Specifically, in a June 2026 resolution, Representative Suzanne Bonamici, with nearly two dozen cosponsors, accuses McMahon of illegally transferring aspects of the Department of Education away to other agencies; making false statements to Congress about her intent to see that money appropriated for education would be disbursed for it’s intended purposes; and breach of public trust, through measures (including funding delays and job cuts) that resulted in damage to public education.
The resolution cites McMahon’s own words with regard to her intent in office to demonstrate that these harmful measures are no accident.
“Linda M. McMahon stated, “I took office as Secretary of Education with a mission unlike any of my predecessors: to oversee the responsible and permanent closure of the very department I now lead.””
The resolution concludes:
“Linda M. McMahon has decimated the Department of Education’s capacity to fulfill its statutory responsibilities and created a culture of fear and chaos that has already disrupted and harmed critical educational programming. These actions have breached the public trust in the Department of Education and in Linda M. McMahon as its leader.”
Like the others, this resolution is currently dead in committee, but shows the charges that could be pressed if the new Congress chooses to move forward.
Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget
Russ Vought was part of Trump’s first Administration. After Trump lost in 2020, Vought founded a right-wing organization called the Center for Renewing America, and was a contributor to Project 2025. When Trump retook office, Vought was placed as Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
There, he is accused of abusing his power to block funding that had already been congressionally approved, including to the Department of Energy.
“The scope of these actions further demonstrates that they were not isolated incidents. On October 1, 2025, Director Vought announced the termination of approximately $8,000,000,000 in Department of Energy projects, after which the Department terminated 321 previously awarded grants affecting projects across sixteen States. Those awards had already been appropriated by Congress and competitively selected through established statutory processes.”
This resolution was sent to the House Committee on the Judiciary in early August, and hasn’t surfaced since. However, it’s one more example of the behaviors by Trump officials on which the next Congress could take action.
When Could This All Happen?
There are rumblings that Pete Hegseth’s impeachment could move forward as soon as Congress reconvenes, but Speaker Mike Johnson has already indicated an intent to table it instead.
The newly-elected Members of Congress are slated for swearing in on January 3rd. While some races haven’t yet been called, the vote tallies for the midterm elections show that Democrats will hold at least slight but relevant majorities in both the House and Senate at that time. That will put Democrats in leadership roles in both chambers, making it possible to call a vote on legislation that Republicans have swept aside previously.
That doesn’t mean these four impeachments, or an impeachment of Donald Trump, are necessarily imminent. It also doesn’t mean that an impeachment would succeed. Dems have not obtained a two-thirds majority in the Senate, so would need at least some Republican members to join in for a conviction.
However, it does mean that as of early January, the power of the people has shifted, and Democrats can start making changes, especially if they’re hearing from their constituents that it’s what the voters want.
