The US House of Representatives has blocked an attempt to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, voting to refer the charges against him to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee and effectively bringing the effort to remove him to a halt.
The House voted 211–204 in favour of the procedural motion, preventing a direct vote on the eight articles of impeachment introduced by Republican Representative Thomas Massie.
Massie was the only Republican to vote against the motion, while all 203 Democrats who participated voted against referring the resolution to committee. Eleven Democrats missed the vote, including Representative Jonathan Jackson, who blamed a traffic delay.
The resolution, introduced by Massie on Monday as lawmakers returned to Washington, accused Hegseth of committing impeachable offences through his handling of the war against Iran and other military operations.
The outcome allows Republican lawmakers to prevent the charges from advancing to a full House vote, at least for the remainder of the current congressional session.
The vote comes as Republicans face the political consequences of significant losses in the midterm elections, with some members of the party blaming the war in Iran and rising fuel prices for the results.
Massie’s resolution contained eight separate articles of impeachment, covering the administration’s military actions in Iran, strikes against suspected drug-trafficking vessels and other decisions taken under Hegseth’s leadership.
Among the allegations was that Hegseth had overseen an illegal war against Iran without congressional authorisation. Massie also accused the Defence Secretary of failing to comply with legal requirements governing US military involvement in hostilities. This, he iterated in a social media post.
“The law requires our military to withdraw from hostilities within 60 days if Congress does not authorize the activity. The Iran war has been underway for 256 days. Congress has not authorized it. Hegseth is breaking the law.”
Thomas Massie
The resolution also raised concerns about reported reductions in personnel and resources at a Pentagon office responsible for mitigating civilian harm during military operations. Those reductions preceded a US missile strike on an Iranian primary school during the war, which reportedly killed as many as 168 people.
Other articles addressed military operations against alleged drug traffickers, the operation involving Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and actions against Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, among other allegations.
Massie argued that the Secretary should be held accountable for decisions that he said violated US law and constitutional requirements governing the use of military force.
Democrats Maintain Pressure On Hegseth
Democratic leaders had supported Massie’s impeachment effort, arguing that Hegseth’s conduct in office had undermined national security and raised serious questions about the administration’s military decisions.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is expected to become Speaker when Democrats take control of the chamber in January, accused Hegseth of abusing his authority and undermining US national security.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer also backed the effort to impeach the Defence Secretary.
Although the House vote has effectively halted the current impeachment initiative, Democratic leaders have indicated that Hegseth’s conduct will remain a subject of scrutiny when their party assumes control of the chamber.
The incoming Democratic majority could pursue investigations and congressional hearings into the Pentagon’s management and the administration’s military operations.
Some Republicans were critical of Hegseth in the run-up to the vote, but said they didn’t believe he had committed impeachable offenses.
Nebraska Representative Don Bacon, who is retiring at the end of the year, said that he had reservations about the defence secretary but did not believe the allegations justified impeachment. “I don’t agree with the merit of this impeachment,” Bacon said, while acknowledging that he was critical of Hegseth.
“I have a lot of other things I thought were failures by the Secretary. We control the agenda. We should be doing hearings.”
Don Bacon
Bacon’s remarks reflected a distinction among some Republicans between criticism of Hegseth’s performance and support for removing him from office through impeachment.
The party’s support for the procedural motion ensured that the eight articles would not proceed to a direct vote in the House.
Trump Celebrates House Decision
President Donald Trump welcomed the outcome, describing the vote as an exoneration of Hegseth and praising Republican lawmakers for supporting the Defence Secretary.
“The Democrats’ attempt to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has miserably FAILED!
“Every single Republican, except Thomas Massie, a major LOSER, voted in favour of Pete.”
Donald Trump
Trump also described Hegseth as a “Great American Patriot”, reinforcing the administration’s support for the Pentagon Chief.
Hegseth had earlier denounced the impeachment effort as “sabotage” during his first press conference in months, defending his conduct and the administration’s military operations.
The Defence Secretary’s remarks came as Trump and other senior administration officials continued to back him amid growing criticism of the Iran war.
While the House decision has effectively ended Massie’s immediate impeachment effort, it does not amount to a direct vote clearing Hegseth of the allegations. Instead, lawmakers voted to refer the charges to committee, leaving the dispute over his conduct unresolved.
With Democrats preparing to take control of the House in January, Hegseth could still face further congressional scrutiny over the administration’s military decisions and the management of the Pentagon.
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