Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could face an unusual congressional reckoning, with Rep. Thomas Massie expected to force a House vote on his impeachment. If the House approves articles against Hegseth, he would join a very short list of Cabinet secretaries impeached by the chamber.

The vote would mark an important distinction in the impeachment process: Impeachment by the House is separate from what happens in the Senate. The House has the power to impeach, while the Senate conducts proceedings on the resulting articles and determines whether to convict.

That distinction matters when counting Cabinet impeachments. A Senate dismissal or acquittal does not undo the House’s action. The historical tally therefore includes Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary impeached by the House in 2024, even though the Senate dismissed the articles against him without holding a trial.

Mayorkas was the second Cabinet secretary impeached by the House. The first was William Belknap, the secretary of war under President Ulysses S. Grant, whom the House impeached in 1876. Belknap resigned before the House vote, but lawmakers proceeded with impeachment. The Senate later acquitted him.

Those two cases frame the stakes of the anticipated vote involving Hegseth. A House vote to impeach him would be a significant event regardless of whether the Senate ultimately convicted him, acquitted him or disposed of the articles without a trial.

The outcome of any House vote remains to be seen. The prospect of a vote alone does not make Hegseth an impeached official; that status would follow only if the House approved at least one article of impeachment.

For now, the historical answer is two. If the House were to impeach Hegseth, he would become the third Cabinet secretary to join that list.