USAupdated 14m ago2 min read
MapHouse Republicans Vote 211-204 To Refer Pete Hegseth Impeachment to Judiciary Committee
“The move to send the measure to the panel effectively kills the effort,”
“The result means that Republicans will be able to slow-walk the process”
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
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House voted 211-204 to refer impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee. Impeachment effort blocked for now, delaying a full vote.
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Impeachment stalled in House
Republicans in the US House of Representatives blocked an impeachment attempt against Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth by voting to refer the impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee rather than put it to a full vote. The House voted 211 to 204 to send the impeachment articles to committee, and the procedural move effectively ended the effort for the remainder of the current Congress.
Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican who introduced the impeachment resolution, had accused Hegseth of waging war on Iran without congressional authorisation and of overseeing “extrajudicial killings” in the US campaign against boats alleged to be carrying drugs in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon that the impeachment effort was a “farce” and “sabotage,” while the BBC said the move “essentially killing the effort” because there was only a short period of time left before Democrats take control in January.
Trump, Hegseth and Massie
President Donald Trump celebrated the House vote on Truth Social, saying the Democrats’ attempt to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth “has miserably FAILED” and calling Thomas Massie “a major LOSER.” Hegseth defended himself at a Pentagon press conference by saying, “What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it's not accountability,” and he added that the effort was “a political spectacle; a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment.”
Massie said he “wasn't surprised” but “was disappointed,” and he told CBS that “My diagnosis of Congress is these people know what to do,” while adding that they “just can't bring themselves to do it.” Pentagon spokesperson Shawn Barnell said the referral to the Judiciary Committee represented a “complete victory” and wrote that the impeachment articles were “baseless.”
What happens next
Democrats indicated they would reattempt to impeach Hegseth after they take control of Congress in January, and the BBC said the move to send the measure to the panel “effectively kills the effort” for this Congress.
“That would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, or 67 votes if all 100 senators.”
The House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries backed the push to impeach Hegseth, and Jeffries told PBS that he was “a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution” while saying, “He’s abused his power. He’s undermined our national security.”
The Senate would need to convict Hegseth for him to be removed, and the Scripps News report said that would require a two-thirds vote, or 67 votes if all 100 senators.
Euronews reported that Hegseth defended operations he led in Yemen, Iran and against alleged drug smugglers, saying, “I stand behind every one of these operations. I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow,” as the impeachment process remained shelved for now.