The United States House of Representatives blocked an attempt to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday, voting 211 to 204 to send the articles to committee. The Republican led House voted 211-204 to refer the articles back to the House Judiciary Committee, where they could remain indefinitely, in a surprise reprieve for President Donald Trump administration as Republicans reel from their midterm election defeat.
Why it matters
The twist was who did not vote. The impeachment articles were introduced by Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, but the effort was backed primarily by Democrats, and the absence of 11 Democratic lawmakers during the vote proved decisive. Had eight of them shown up and voted with their colleagues, they would have had the numbers to defeat the procedural move and force a full House vote on whether to impeach Hegseth as early as this week.
Massie was the sole Republican to oppose the measure, and the remaining votes fell along party lines. The eight articles accuse Hegseth of launching an illegal war against Iran without congressional approval, along with military operations in Venezuela and Yemen and strikes on boats in the Caribbean. Hegseth called the effort a farce in his first news conference in months, and Trump praised his defence.
What happens next
The vote was not on whether to impeach Hegseth. It was on whether to refer the articles to the Judiciary Committee, where they may be further investigated or amended, and the procedural move in effect killed the impeachment drive for the duration of the current Congress, which ends in eight weeks. On January 3, Democrats will take control of the House and Senate.
What happens next will be decided in January, when Democrats could revive the effort with control of both chambers. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, expected to become the next speaker, stood firmly behind the push, and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer endorsed it as well. For now, Hegseth survives, and the question is whether the Democrats missed their moment or merely postponed it. The eight articles accused Hegseth of misconduct over military operations in Iran, Venezuela and Yemen, and the vote was not on whether to impeach him at all.
