A week after voters handed Republicans a stinging rebuke, the party faces an early test of whether it will distance itself from President Donald Trump and respond to concerns that helped drive voters away. The pressure point is an impeachment vote targeting War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

During the past six months, an overwhelming majority of House Republicans repeatedly rejected Democratic legislation seeking to curtail Trump’s Iran war. Now, those lawmakers will vote on whether Hegseth, described as one of the conflict’s chief architects, should remain in office.

Rep. Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican who lost his GOP primary and is leading the impeachment effort, told reporters Monday that he expects some Republicans to join Democrats. He said there are “several” Republicans prepared to vote for impeachment.

“It’s going to be everybody’s conscience, and then they’ll have to live with that vote,” Massie said. “They’re going to have to live with that vote two years from now, if they’re not part of the retirement caucus.”

“And if they are part of the retirement caucus,” Massie continued, “what do they have to lose?” Democrats may not need much Republican help for the resolution to clear the House.

Only 399 House lawmakers voted Monday night, including 202 Democrats, potentially giving Democrats an effective majority during the lame duck session. More lawmakers could arrive later in the week, but neither party expects full attendance.

Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, Air Force veteran and retiring member of Congress, said he is “wrestling” with whether to support impeachment. Bacon cited concerns about Hegseth’s leadership, including his firing of generals, but questioned whether Massie’s articles meet the constitutional threshold.

“It’s a gray zone for some of us,” Bacon said. “I don’t think he’s been a good secretary. Would you impeach a guy for that? It has to be a high crime or misdemeanor.”

Rep. Kevin Kiley, a Republican turned Independent who lost his reelection bid last week, said he had not read Massie’s articles. “I vote for every bill based on the merits, and so I’m going to have to read the text before I make any sort of decision,” he told MS NOW.

Rep. Mike Lawler, who lost his reelection bid in New York, said he would vote against impeachment. He argued that the effort lacked the process Republicans demanded in 2024 while pursuing charges against then Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

“Unlike with Mayorkas, there have been no hearings, no investigations, no opportunity for the Secretary to answer the charges (whatever they are), and no actual process,” Lawler told MS NOW. “One member should not be foisting this upon the entire Congress.”

Ohio Republican Warren Davidson, who won reelection and joined Democrats in supporting Iran war powers resolutions this year, also opposes impeachment. “I think Sec. Hegseth has been effective in his job,” Davidson said. “Trying to impeach him for a decision he didn’t make is blame-shifting from Congress and the president.”

Democrats are expected to support the resolution overwhelmingly, if not unanimously. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is poised to become speaker in the new Congress, called himself a “hard yes.”

“He shredded the law and the Constitution with impunity, and there is no circumstance that justifies Pete Hegseth continuing to hold this position,” Jeffries said Monday. Even if the House adopts the articles, the Senate would still decide whether to convict Hegseth and could dismiss the charges outright.

Massie rejected the suggestion that the impeachment resolution is merely symbolic. “Read the eight articles. It’s not a policy disagreement,” he said. “Because he’s violated the international norms of war and violated our own conventions of war, he’s put our own soldiers and sailors at risk.”

The eight articles accuse Hegseth of waging war against Iran without congressional authorization, ordering extrajudicial killings connected to boat strikes in the Caribbean, and participating in the kidnapping of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Massie said the effort would still succeed if it pressured Trump to remove Hegseth.

Trump has continued to support Hegseth, who is scheduled to hold a Tuesday morning news conference defending his record. Hegseth called the impeachment push “political theater” in a social media video posted last week.

“A disgruntled defeated congressman along with all his Democrat allies has dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly — just like they tried against President Trump twice,” Hegseth said. Massie previously threatened to force an impeachment vote in September, which he said prompted House GOP leaders to cancel scheduled votes and send lawmakers home early.

Voters have since stripped Republicans of control of Congress. Polling showed about one third of voters ranked the Iran war as “crucial” to their decision, placing it just behind concerns including the cost of living.