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House blocks impeachment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

Summarised from 11 outlets · 19 reports · Updated 10 Nov, 23:44 · Archive

The House voted 211-204 to refer impeachment articles against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee, effectively killing the effort.

The House voted on Tuesday evening to refer Republican Congressman Thomas Massie's impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee, effectively killing it on the House floor. The vote was 211-204, with Massie voting alongside all Democrats against the referral, while other Republicans supported it.

Massie had introduced eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday. The articles accused Hegseth of unlawfully launching military operations in Iran and Yemen without congressional approval, overseeing strikes against suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean, capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and retaliating against Democratic Senator Mark Kelly for exercising his constitutional rights.

Hegseth held a press conference on Tuesday morning to respond to the impeachment threat. He called the effort a 'political spectacle', a 'farce' and a 'stunt'. He argued that the allegations amounted to 'policy disagreements, not high crimes, not misdemeanors', and stated: 'I stand behind every one of these operations. I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow.' Hegseth also accused Massie of being 'one disgruntled and defeated congressman' driven by 'ego and resentment'.

The Trump administration and the White House circled round Hegseth. President Trump posted on Truth Social that Hegseth gets an 'A PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense'. Vice President JD Vance noted that the real issue was not Iran but Hegseth's efforts to reposition forces away from Europe and Ukraine and reorganise the Pentagon's general officer corps.

Massie, a Kentucky Republican losing his primary after breaking with the president, had previously introduced articles of impeachment in September, but House Speaker Mike Johnson adjourned the chamber early without holding a vote. Massie filed a privileged resolution that forced Tuesday's vote, a procedural mechanism designed to bypass the chamber's majority. He said on Tuesday that he had heard from several colleagues who agreed with some but not all of the articles.

The vote came after Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, with polls suggesting voters partly blamed the Iran war for surging prices of goods including gasoline and groceries. Though some Republicans have voted with Democrats on war powers resolutions intended to end the Iran conflict, most did not believe Hegseth's conduct rose to the level of impeachable offence.

The referral to committee effectively kills the resolution for this session of Congress, which ends in early January. Democrats, who will control the House next year, have said impeaching Hegseth is a priority.

House blocks impeachment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
Image: Independent World

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In this story: Pete Hegseth · Thomas Massie · Donald Trump · Mark Kelly · Nicolás Maduro · United States House of Representatives · Iran · Venezuela

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log