House Blocks Hegseth Impeachment
Republicans in the US House of Representatives blocked an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Iran war on Tuesday, handing President Donald Trump a victory days after his party’s midterm election defeat, rte.ie reported.
The House voted 211 to 204 to refer the impeachment resolution to the House Judiciary Committee, thereby halting an anticipated vote on formally charging the Pentagon chief, as reported by rte.ie. The resolution was introduced by Republican Thomas Massie, a critic of Trump, who was the only member of his party to oppose the procedural maneuver, rte.ie reported.
“It’s a farce and it’s a stunt, and everybody knows it,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon press conference on Tuesday, branding the accusations slander and sabotage, rte.ie reported. Trump hailed the procedural defeat as an “EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot,” in a post on Truth Social, while Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell called the vote a “TOTAL VICTORY!” on X, rte.ie reported.
At the War Department: We Stand. We Fight. We Defend the Republic.
Articles of Impeachment and Military Operations
Massie’s eight articles of impeachment accused Hegseth of illegally waging war without congressional authorization and abusing his powers as Pentagon chief, rte.ie reported. Several articles related to the eight-month Iran war, accusing Hegseth of violating the War Powers Resolution, which places limits on US military interventions without congressional authorization, according to rte.ie.
Additional claims pointed to the 2025 hostilities involving Yemen’s Iran-supported Houthis along with attacks targeting suspected drug-running vessels in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean, which were labeled extrajudicial executions by Massie, according to rte.ie.
Furthermore, rte.ie noted that Massie blamed Hegseth for curtailing free speech through attempts to penalize Democratic Senator Mark Kelly regarding a video that called on intelligence and military personnel to reject unlawful directives. rte.ie reported.
In his defense, Hegseth backed the military actions concerning Yemen, Iran, Venezuela, and suspected drug traffickers, while attempting to frame the impeachment drive as an assault on American service members, rte.ie reported. “I stand behind every one of these operations. I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow,” Hegseth said, according to rte.ie.
Why Massie Introduced Articles of Impeachment Against Pete Hegseth
Why did Representative Thomas Massie introduce articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth?
Massie introduced eight articles of impeachment accusing the defense secretary of illegally waging war without congressional authorization, violating the War Powers Resolution during the eight-month Iran war, and carrying out extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, rte.ie reported.
What happens next to the impeachment effort after the House vote?
The House vote to send the resolution to the House Judiciary Committee effectively halts the immediate impeachment drive, though Democrats could revive the effort after taking control of both chambers of Congress in January, rte.ie reported.
More on Pete Hegseth
House GOP leaders just successfully killed Massie's push to impeach Secretary Hegseth, per @sarahnferris. https://t.co/Um8tCD7EVS
GOP Rep. Thomas Massie: "I think there's two categories of Republicans after Nov. 3rd who are more likely to vote to impeach Pete Hegseth. One, I call it the retirement caucus. These aren't people who joined voluntarily. And the ranks of this caucus swelled for Republicans on… pic.twitter.com/sFrlyIUdoX”
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