Hegseth Could Still Be the Third Cabinet Secretary to be Impeached. What Happened to the Others?

Detailed summary

House Republicans blocked the Hegseth impeachment, but Democrats could revive the effort in January when they take control of both chambers in Congress. Here's what to know about the previous impeachment efforts—and how they played out.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth narrowly escaped impeachment proceedings Tuesday after the Republican-led House voted against a resolution filed by a GOP lawmaker.

The House voted 211-204 to defeat the measure reintroduced by Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky the day before. The eight articles of impeachment accused Hegseth of violating the War Powers Resolution of 1973, citing the lack of congressional oversight on the Iran war which Massie argues was “unlawful from its inception.” Another charge accuses Hegseth of “ignoring laws that minimize civilian casualties.” The charges also allege the “kidnapping of a sovereign foreign leader,” in reference to the U.S.’ capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January.

While Hegseth has been granted a reprieve, it's possible the Democrats could revive the effort in January, when they take control of both the House and Senate following sweeping victories in the midterms.

Hegseth had dismissed the impeachment effort as a “political spectacle,” referring to the resolutions put forward by Massie, who lost the Republican primary in May to a Trump-backed challenger, as a “farce” that “mock the Constitution.” Addressing reporters during a press conference at the Pentagon Tuesday morning, Hegseth said that “Iran, the cartels, Maduro, Yemen, every one was a lawful operation ordered by the Commander in Chief, then ordered by myself, notified to Congress, and executed by American warriors who did their jobs.”

Even if the measure had passed the House on Tuesday, it was unlikely to obtain the two-thirds majority needed to pass the current Senate, where Republicans still hold 53 out ⁠of 100 seats. But that balance will change in the Democrats' favor next year. For now, Hegseth has the support of President Donald Trump, who vowed to “stand by” him even if an impeachment vote is successful, but the embattled Defense Secretary is facing mounting scrutiny elsewhere.

While impeachment itself carries no immediate legal consequences, a…

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Opening of the article, excerpted from Time. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.