House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries has thrown his weight behind the Pete Hegseth impeachment effort, telling ABC's This Week on Sunday that he backs the resolution against the defense secretary. Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie, an outgoing congressman and frequent critic of Donald Trump, plans to reintroduce the measure as soon as Monday.

Jeffries: 'Pete Hegseth has got to go'

Jeffries leveled three charges at Hegseth: that the defense secretary abused his power, undermined national security and engineered a war of choice in Iran that raised prices for Americans. He said the resolution has his firm backing.

As for whether Hegseth can stay in the job, Jeffries was blunt: "Pete Hegseth has got to go."

Massie's resolution and eight articles

Massie's resolution is built on eight articles of impeachment accusing Hegseth of multiple offenses. Among them is the claim that he violated the War Powers Resolution of 1973 over the Iran war, which Massie and its backers characterize as a war of choice launched without the congressional authorization that law demands.

The measure's core allegations include:

• •Abusing the power of the defense secretary's office
• •Undermining national security
• •Leading a costly military campaign in Iran in violation of the War Powers Resolution of 1973

Democrats to weigh support on Tuesday

Jeffries said House Democrats will discuss the resolution Tuesday morning, when lawmakers return to Washington for the first time since the midterm elections. "But I believe there will be incredibly strong support for that resolution," he said.

The push follows Republican losses at the polls, with both Trump and voters identifying the Iran war as a major factor in the party's defeat - a connection that has put fresh pressure on Hegseth.

Pressure from both sides, and Hegseth's response

The impeachment drive lands amid criticism of the secretary from inside his own party as well. A former senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday that the Iran war has been primarily a Department of War-led effort, and a Republican close to the White House told CNN that responsibility belongs with Hegseth.

The same Republican went further, saying Hegseth has been either dishonest or incorrect about timelines, goals and objectives since the beginning. Trump, however, said Wednesday he is not considering replacing him: "No, I think he's doing a very good job."

Hegseth answered the impeachment articles in a video posted on social media Thursday, calling them a politically motivated sham akin to the two impeachments of Trump.

Democrats have also promised a broader investigation of Hegseth's Pentagon tenure, spanning the Iran war and his purges of top military officers, including the chair of the joint chiefs of staff. Some Democrats say his Ukraine policy and US military strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in Latin American waters could amount to war crimes and merit scrutiny as well.