US House Republicans blocked a bid to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday, November 10. The House voted 211–204 to send eight articles of impeachment to its Republican-led Judiciary Committee. The procedural vote shelved the bid ahead of a Democratic takeover of Congress in January.
Thomas Massie, the outgoing Kentucky Republican who introduced the resolution, cast the only Republican vote against referral. Eleven Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, missed the vote. Eight additional votes against referral would have defeated the motion and cleared the way for an impeachment vote. Pelosi’s office did not immediately explain her absence.
Iran war drives impeachment fight
Massie’s resolution accused Hegseth of “high crimes and misdemeanours” over US operations in Iran and Yemen, strikes on boats in the Caribbean and the January raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Hegseth called the impeachment effort a farce and said his military orders were lawful. He praised President Donald Trump’s handling of the war and said US strikes had devastated Iran’s military.
“History will judge the Iran war quite differently than the conventional wisdom right now,” Hegseth said at his first Pentagon briefing in six months.
Trump said the bid “has miserably FAILED!” and credited Hegseth’s record on Iran, Venezuela and other issues. Vice President JD Vance backed Hegseth despite blaming the war for Republicans’ midterm losses. “This isn’t about Iran, this is about the fact that Pete took on the bureaucracy at the Pentagon,” Vance wrote.
Public anger over the war helped Democrats win both chambers in last week’s midterms. The conflict has reached a stalemate centred on the Strait of Hormuz. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found 71% of Americans want Congress to pass legislation ending the war. That included 93% of Democrats and 51% of Republicans.
Democrats could renew the bid in January
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries accused Hegseth of abusing his power and undermining US national security. He called Hegseth “the architect of the reckless and costly failed war of choice in Iran.” On whether Democrats would try again, Jeffries said, “We’ll have that conversation at the appropriate time.”
A renewed inquiry could hear from generals and admirals Hegseth dismissed, including the former Joint Chiefs chairman and the Navy’s former top admiral. Democrats could also examine Pentagon policy toward Ukraine and strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. Some Republicans see Hegseth’s strained ties with Congress as a liability as Trump seeks to raise military spending from $950 billion to $1.5 trillion.
No US defence secretary has faced impeachment by the full House. In 1876, the House impeached William Belknap, then secretary of war. Hegseth uses that title, but Congress must approve a formal department name change.
Massie likened his Republican colleagues to passengers staying aboard the Titanic. “They know it’s a sinking ship but committed to stay on board,” he said.
