Hegseth’s popularity has slipped as American frustration toward the Iran war has continued over the past several months. The military operation was launched in February and faced bipartisan rebuke, with critics arguing it broke President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to not launch new wars. The conflict has been unpopular, and its impact has been felt domestically in surging oil prices that have added economic pressure for millions of Americans already grappling with high inflation in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only 25 percent of Americans viewed Hegseth favorably in the new Marquette poll, while 49 percent said they viewed him unfavorably. That’s the highest point his unfavorability has been since he was announced as Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon. His net favorability rating fell to -24 points from -22 points in July and -19 points in May, according to Marquette.
The previous low point for Hegseth’s favorability was in April, when his favorability rating stood at -21 points just a month after the attack was launched on Iran. Seventy-nine percent of respondents said they believe the Iran war has not been worth the cost, while 87 percent said that the U.S. has not achieved its goals in the conflict, the poll found. Meanwhile, only 26 percent approved of President Trump’s handling of the Iran war, while 73 percent disapproved.
It surveyed 1,023 adults nationwide from September 2 to September 9, 2026, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points. Massie, who is known for having an independent, libertarian streak, announced articles of impeachment against Hegseth on Tuesday over the Iran war. He said the secretary is breaking the law by “engaging in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization.” “Secretary Hegseth's constitutional violations extend beyond the illegal war in Iran.
He is abusing the power of his office to ignore congressional war powers resolutions, to kidnap foreign leaders, and to intimidate critics of the Trump administration by retaliating against them for exercising free speech,” Massie wrote in a statement. In total, Massie introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth accusing him of waging war in contravention of the War Powers Resolution of 1973, ignoring laws that minimize civilian casualties, engaging in extrajudicial killings, suppressing free speech, the kidnapping of a sovereign leader and waging an unlawful war in Yemen. Massie’s efforts appear likely to stall, at least until after the midterms, after Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson announced the House would recess until after the November elections.
The announcement means Congress will not be voting on the impeachment articles at any point before the midterms. Massie slammed the announcement in a post on X Wednesday afternoon. They’re canceling Congress tomorrow to avoid the vote on IMPEACHING @SecWar.
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