Second Lady Usha Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth salute as a U.S. Army carry team moves a flag-draped transfer case containing the remains of Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens at Dover Air Force Base March 7, 2026, in Dover, Del. Tietjens is one of six soldiers from the 103rd Sustainment Command killed by an Iranian drone strike on March 1 in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. (Roberto Schmidt / Getty Images)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth narrowly avoided an immediate impeachment vote Tuesday when the Republican-controlled (for now) House voted 211-204 to send eight articles of impeachment against him to the Judiciary Committee, effectively stalling the effort for the remainder of this Congress.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced the impeachment resolution over Hegseth’s handling of U.S. military operations, alleged violations of federal law and abuse of Pentagon authority. All 203 Democrats who participated in the vote opposed the motion to refer the resolution, along with Massie, the lone Republican to do so. Hegseth has denied wrongdoing and called the impeachment effort a “political spectacle.”
The vote did not decide the merits of the allegations, nor did it legally prevent further action. The current Congress ends Jan. 3, 2027; lawmakers in the next Congress could introduce a new impeachment resolution. With Democrats set to take control of both chambers, the impeachment fight may not be over.
The impeachment resolution at the heart of the latest round of headlines does not address Hegseth’s treatment of women in the military—but the next one should.
Under Hegseth, the Pentagon has dismantled a longstanding institution designed to advocate for servicewomen, questioned women’s roles in combat and blocked the promotions of senior female officers, even as sexual violence and harassment remain pervasive within the military.
When lawmakers get another chance to question Hegseth’s leadership and the Pentagon’s handling of civilian casualties, the defense secretary’s treatment of women in uniform also deserves scrutiny.
A Pentagon That Calls Feminism a Threat
The Trump administration’s Pentagon has characterized feminism and diversity initiatives as threats to military readiness. Yet for many women serving in the U.S. military, the greatest threats are not diversity programs or so-called “wokeness”—they are violence, harassment and retaliation from within their own ranks.
At least 41 women serving in the Army died by homicide between 2011 and August 2025—more than half at the hands of fellow service members or veterans—according to an investigation by The Intercept. Another 128 women died by suicide during that period.c
Among the cases examined were the murder of Pvt. Sarah Roque by a fellow soldier; the abuse and sexual assault of Spc. Mayra Diaz by another service member; and the death of Pvt. Ana Basaldua-Ruiz, who died by suicide after reporting sexual harassment.
Their stories are not isolated tragedies.
Brown University’s Costs of War project estimated that 73,695 sexual assaults occurred in the U.S. military in 2023, far more than official estimates. Researchers also found that approximately one in four active-duty women experienced sexual assault over the course of the war in Afghanistan.
A protest against the visit of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in Panama City, Panama, on April 8, 2025. (Martin Bernetti / AFP via Getty Images)
Despite those realities, Hegseth eliminated one of the military’s longest-running advisory bodies focused on the experiences and safety of servicewomen: the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS).
Established in 1951, DACOWITS spent more than seven decades studying the barriers women face in the military. Committee members visited military installations, interviewed service members and made recommendations to Pentagon leadership on everything from combat equipment and healthcare to recruitment, retention and sexual harassment. Although the committee did not set military policy, it served as an independent voice for women in uniform, and an early warning system for problems military leadership might otherwise overlook. A 2020 report found that the Pentagon had fully or partially adopted 97 percent of more than 1,000 recommendations made since 1967.
Hegseth argued that DACOWITS promoted a “divisive feminist agenda” that harmed combat readiness.
Critics countered that eliminating an independent body dedicated to women’s experiences weakened oversight at a time when women in the military continued to face significant risks of violence and retaliation.
In October 2025, Reps. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) and Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), both veterans, led 92 other lawmakers in demanding the immediate reinstatement of DACOWITS. They argued that its work—from better-fitting combat gear to improved parental leave—strengthened readiness and helped servicewomen serve on equal terms.
The committee’s elimination was not the only step that raised concerns. The Pentagon ordered a review of women’s effectiveness in ground combat roles, more than a decade after those positions were opened to women. In October, civil rights and women’s organizations sued to obtain records about the still-ongoing review.
Hegseth also removed nine officers—including all three women—from a Navy list of captains selected for promotion to one-star admiral. That left no women slated for promotion to that rank in 2026. The Pentagon said promotions were merit-based but offered no public explanation for the removals.
Women Won the Right to Serve—but Not the Right to Safety
The Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948 gave women the right to serve as permanent members of the military. Nearly eight decades later, their right to serve safely is still far from secure.
The murder of 20-year-old Army specialist Vanessa Guillén in April 2020 brought national attention to the violence that military women face from their own counterparts. Her death sparked a widespread feminist and social justice movement, widely described as a #MeToo moment for the military. The hashtag #IAmVanessaGuillen became a platform for servicewomen to share experiences of harassment, assault and institutional failures.
The Vanessa Guillen Post Office Dedication Ceremony on April 3, 2024, in Houston, Texas. The naming of this Post Office honors Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen, the Houston native whose 2020 death led to military reforms across the nation. (Raquel Natalicchio / Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Guillén’s death also intensified congressional efforts to reform the military justice system. Then-Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) had long advocated for changes to how the military investigates sexual assault and harassment. Guillén’s murder, she said, became an impetus for members of Congress to recognize the military’s deep-seated problems.
Those efforts helped secure reforms enacted in 2021 in the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. The changes transferred decisions about prosecuting sexual assault and certain other serious offenses from military commanders to independent military prosecutors, whose offices became operational in December 2023.
But years later, survivors continue to face barriers to reporting misconduct, seeking justice and holding the institution accountable.
Under the Feres doctrine, service members have generally been barred from suing the federal government for injuries connected to their military service, even when negligence contributed to the harm.
The bipartisan Military Sexual Trauma Accountability Act, introduced June 24 by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and John Kennedy (R-La.), would create a narrow exception allowing certain survivors to bring civil claims against the government when negligence contributed to sexual assault or harassment. The bill remains pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee. It represents a separate congressional effort to strengthen accountability for military sexual trauma—protections that critics say the Pentagon should be strengthening, rather than dismantling.
Readiness Requires Accountability
One of Massie’s eight impeachment articles specifically accuses Hegseth of weakening civilian-protection safeguards within the Defense Department.
The resolution alleges that the Pentagon reduced personnel responsible for limiting civilian harm and weakened oversight intended to prevent civilian deaths. It connects those decisions to the Feb. 28, 2026, strike on a girls’ school in Minab, Iran, which killed more than 150 people, many of them children, according to reports. An initial U.S. inquiry reportedly found American forces were likely responsible; the Pentagon has not publicly released a final finding.
Civilian-protection failures and the dismantling of institutions that advocate for women in uniform are not identical. But both raise questions about what happens when systems designed to identify institutional failures and protect people are weakened.
The military does not have a “women’s problem.” It has a structural accountability problem.
As lawmakers scrutinize Hegseth’s military decisions, the treatment of women in the military should remain part of the conversation about his leadership. The ability to protect civilians abroad, safeguard service members at home and hold military officials accountable are all central responsibilities of the Pentagon.
Honoring servicewomen requires more than celebrating their courage. It requires building an institution that values their safety, listens to their experiences and treats their lives as indispensable to the nation’s defense.
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