The Republican-led House voted 211-204 on Tuesday to send impeachment articles against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to committee, blocking the effort to remove him over the Iran war.
The vote killed the resolution filed by Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky on Monday. The House voted 211-204 to send the articles to the Judiciary Committee. Massie, a vocal Trump critic, was the lone Republican to vote with Democrats. 11 Democrats missed the vote, and Republicans control the House until January.
Massie filed eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth. The articles accuse him of waging war in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization. They cite violations of the War Powers Resolution, including continuing hostilities after the 60-day limit expired. The articles also cite operations in Yemen, strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean, the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and an attempt to punish Sen. Mark Kelly over protected speech.
Hegseth called the impeachment a "farce" and a "stunt" at a Pentagon press conference on Tuesday, his first in six months. He said all operations were "lawful" and ordered by the commander-in-chief. "Iran, the cartels, Maduro, Yemen — every one was a lawful operation," he said. He equated the vote to the two Democratic-led impeachments of Trump, saying, "If standing with President Trump puts me in that company, I'll take that company every day of the week."
President Trump posted on Truth Social that the impeachment attempt "miserably FAILED" and called Hegseth a "Great American Patriot." Vice President JD Vance said on X that Hegseth had "obviously not" committed impeachable offenses and called impeachment a "ridiculous show."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is on track to become speaker in January, has said Democrats will "run Pete Hegseth out of town" when they take over Congress. Massie will leave Congress after losing his primary to a Trump-backed opponent. Outgoing Rep. Don Bacon said he did not align with the impeachment but would feel differently about firing 80 generals.
