House Republicans Block Hegseth Impeachment, but Democrats Could Revive Effort in January

Detailed summary

The House voted 211-204 to defeat a resolution brought by Rep. Thomas Massie. Another vote could come after Democrats take control of Congress in January.

The Republican-led House on Tuesday narrowly rejected a push to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over unauthorized military hostilities in Iran, Venezuela and Yemen, shielding one of President Donald Trump's closest allies from an immediate reckoning but setting the stage for a renewed confrontation when Democrats take control of Congress in January.

The House voted 211-204 to defeat a resolution brought by Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a Republican who has repeatedly clashed with Trump, preventing lawmakers from considering eight articles of impeachment accusing Hegseth of violating the Constitution, conducting unauthorized military operations, and abusing the powers of his office.

The vote offered a temporary reprieve for Hegseth, who has faced mounting criticism over the administration's conduct of the Iran war, and demonstrated Trump's continued hold over congressional Republicans despite the party's sweeping losses in last week's midterm elections. But it may have only delayed a political showdown over the defense secretary's future. Democrats, who won control of both chambers of Congress in the election, will have an opportunity to revive the impeachment effort when the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3, potentially making Hegseth the third Cabinet member in American history to be impeached.

With a Democratic majority in the House, impeachment articles would stand a substantially greater chance of passage. Unlike a Senate conviction, which requires support of a two-thirds majority, impeachment in the House requires only a simple majority. Democrats could therefore approve articles without Republican support if enough of their members backed the effort.

Such a vote would make Hegseth only the third Cabinet secretary in American history to be impeached, following William Belknap, President Ulysses S. Grant's secretary of war, in 1876, and Alejandro Mayorkas, President Joe Biden's homeland security secretary, in 2024.

The current impeachment effort was led by…

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