Republicans in the US House of Representatives have blocked an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Iran war, handing President Donald Trump a victory days after his party’s crushing midterm election defeat.
The vote
The House voted 211 to 204 to send the impeachment resolution to the House Judiciary Committee, effectively derailing a planned vote on whether to bring formal charges against the embattled Pentagon chief. The resolution was introduced by Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a critic of Trump, who was the only member of his party to oppose the procedural manoeuvre, according to US media. Eleven Democrats missed the vote.
The eight articles of impeachment accused Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanours related to the conduct of the Iran conflict, including alleged violations of the War Powers Resolution and unauthorised military operations. Massie unveiled the articles on Monday.
Hegseth dismisses the effort
Hegseth used his first Pentagon press conference in about six months to dismiss the impeachment effort as a “farce” and a “stunt”, and said he was “not worried”, calling Massie a “disgruntled congressman”. The defence secretary’s allies described the outcome as a major victory for the president, Hegseth and House Republicans.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries indicated the issue is not closed, noting Democrats will reassess once they assume the majority in January. On the Democratic side, Jamie Raskin, who is expected to chair the House Judiciary Committee next year, said his party was “sober about impeachment”.
Not the end of the story
The decision to send the resolution to committee halts the immediate impeachment drive but does not prevent Democrats from reviving the effort after taking control of Congress in January. Republicans still hold a narrow House majority until then, when Democrats take control of both chambers following last week’s midterm elections, in which they won sizable majorities in the House and Senate. The vote came on the same day Republicans chose their new leaders for the next Congress, with Jim Jordan elected House Republican leader and John Thune re-elected in the Senate.
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