11 Democrats under fire for helping Pete Hegseth avoid impeachment. Who are they?

Detailed summary

The House sent Pete Hegseth's impeachment articles to a Republican-controlled committee in a 211-204 vote. Eleven absent Democrats then faced criticism from colleagues as the narrow result exposed party tensions.

Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump's defence secretary, survived an impeachment challenge in the US House on Tuesday after Republican lawmakers blocked an effort accusing him of unlawfully waging the Iran war and ordering other controversial military operations. But the biggest controversy may now be inside the Democratic Party. Eleven House Democrats were absent when lawmakers voted on whether to keep the impeachment effort against the defence secretary alive, prompting furious criticism from some of their own colleagues.

The House voted 211-204 to send Republican Representative Thomas Massie's impeachment articles against Hegseth to the GOP-controlled Judiciary Committee. 11 Democrats were among the 18 members who did not vote.

But the narrow margin has left Democrats asking whether the outcome could have been different if the absent lawmakers had been on the House floor. The answer is not as simple as a straight yes. But their absence has triggered anger among fellow Democrats, particularly because several lawmakers said they believed Hegseth should be impeached.

New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticised colleagues who failed to appear, saying lawmakers were elected to "do a job" and should show up to perform it.

California Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove was even more blunt, arguing that Democrats should have made their way to the Capitol because they knew the vote was coming.

Massie, a Kentucky Republican who has repeatedly broken with President Donald Trump, introduced the impeachment articles against Hegseth on Monday. The resolution accused the defence secretary of committing "high crimes and misdemeanors", including launching military action against Iran without congressional authorisation and ordering strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.

The impeachment effort therefore went beyond a routine dispute over Pentagon policy. It challenged Hegseth's authority to conduct military operations and raised questions about whether the…

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