The House blocked an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as the fallout from President Donald Trump’s Iran war reached Capitol Hill following Republicans’ crushing defeat in midterm elections.
The House voted 211-204 to refer to the Judiciary Committee a resolution brought by Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who was aiming to hold the defense secretary accountable for military operations he contends violated federal law and the Constitution.
Sending the articles to the Judiciary Committee effectively kills the impeachment effort without forcing lawmakers to vote on whether Hegseth should be impeached.
Massie was the sole Republican who voted against referring the articles to committee. Eleven Democrats missed the vote, potentially enough to change the outcome. Massie said he was unaware of their absences.
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Hegseth’s office celebrated the move as “TOTAL VICTORY,” dismissing the articles as “baseless.”
“From the beginning, this effort has been a political exercise devoid of merit, evidence, or seriousness,” Seth Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesperson, said in a post on X.
Trump said on Truth Social that the impeachment effort had “miserably failed” and called it the “EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot.” He touted military operations in Iran and Venezuela and record recruitment numbers.
“The Democrats continue to weaponize and abuse the United States of America. They must be stopped!” Trump wrote.
Massie said after the vote that he has no plan to reintroduce the impeachment articles but is “quite certain” Democrats will pursue the effort when they take control of the House in January.
“Congress is paralyzed. They’re still in the suicide pact with this administration,” Massie said of his party.
Massie, who lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger earlier this year, brought eight articles of impeachment on Monday accusing Hegseth of “high crimes and misdemeanors,” including violating congressional war powers, conducting unlawful military operations and abusing his authority at the Pentagon.
Three of the eight articles focus on the Iran war. Massie accuses Hegseth of conducting military operations without congressional authorization, disregarding what he describes as congressional directives to end the fighting, and continuing hostilities beyond the 60-day deadline established by the War Powers Resolution.
The remaining articles accuse Hegseth of disregarding laws intended to minimize civilian casualties, carrying out unlawful strikes against suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, retaliating against Sen. Mark Kelly over his criticism of military orders, unlawfully capturing Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and conducting unauthorized military operations in Yemen.But Republicans sided with Hegseth.
Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), who repeatedly broke with his party to vote for measures restricting Trump’s authority to wage war against Iran, defended Hegseth and opposed impeachment.
“Making Secretary Hegseth the fall guy for a duty Congress shirked and President Trump made is wrong,” Davidson said in a social media post. “Judge Mr. Hegseth on the job he was given. He has restored the military’s sense of purpose.”
Hegseth, at his first formal Pentagon news conference since May, dismissed the impeachment effort Tuesday as a political stunt and defended his leadership of the military.
“What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it’s not accountability,” Hegseth said. “It’s a farce, and it’s a stunt and everybody knows it.”
Trump later praised his defense secretary, awarding him “‘A’ PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense” in a social media post.
The White House also formally urged House lawmakers to refer the resolution to committee, calling Massie’s effort politically motivated and warning it could undermine national security.
“Personal, political, and policy disagreements do not rise to a high crime, misdemeanor, or an impeachable offense,” the White House said in a statement of administration policy.
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