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US House blocks bid to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, 211 to 204

Developing

What happened
The House voted to send impeachment articles against Pete Hegseth to committee, effectively ending the effort for now.
Why it matters
Eleven absent Democrats proved decisive in a narrow procedural vote over his handling of the Iran war.
What’s next
Democrats take control of Congress on January 3 and can bring the articles back.

How this story developed

  1. 11:33First report
  2. 13:322nd source
  3. 13:32Confirmed
  4. 14:47+3 outlets in 35 min
  1. 11:33First reportFrance 24
  2. 13:322nd sourceAl Jazeera English
  3. 13:32ConfirmedWas: Single source
  4. 14:47Latest+3 outlets in 35 minBBC News World, The Guardian World and NPR World
Full story

The vote

The US House of Representatives voted 211 to 204 on Tuesday to refer articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, effectively shelving the effort, the BBC, Al Jazeera and France 24 report.

The articles, introduced by Republican congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky and backed mainly by Democrats, accuse Hegseth of abuses of power and of waging war on Iran without congressional authorisation. The vote was not on impeachment itself but on whether to send the resolution to committee, a move Massie called a procedural motion to kill it. With the current Congress ending in about eight weeks, the resolution is unlikely to return to the floor before then.

The missing Democrats

Massie was the only Republican to vote against the referral. Eighteen members were absent: 11 Democrats and seven Republicans. Al Jazeera reports that had the absent Democrats voted with their party, they would have had the numbers to defeat the motion and force a full impeachment vote.

Several of them blamed traffic delays in Washington. Others cited a veterans event, a health procedure and a personal emergency. Most said they would have opposed the motion.

Fellow Democrats criticised the absences. "You should show up and do your job," Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan told CNN, according to the BBC.

Reactions

President Donald Trump celebrated on Truth Social, saying the effort had "miserably FAILED" and calling Hegseth a "Great American Patriot". At his first Pentagon briefing in six months, Hegseth called the impeachment drive a "farce" and "sabotage", the BBC reports.

“This is not the end of it. It's just the beginning.”

Hakeem Jeffries, House Democratic leader, BBC News World

Massie said he "wasn't surprised" but was disappointed, according to the BBC's US partner CBS. He had argued that removing Hegseth now would let the Senate confirm a replacement while Republicans still hold power.

What comes next

Democrats won control of both chambers in the midterm elections and take over on January 3. Impeachment resolutions can be carried past the end of a congressional term, so they will be able to take the articles up again next year.