House Republicans on Tuesday evening voted to block an attempt to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
In a 211-204 vote, the House moved to refer Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-Ky.) articles of impeachment against Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee rather than bring them up for a floor vote, effectively stalling the effort. Nevertheless, Democrats have signaled they will likely try again when they take over majority control of both chambers of Congress in January.
“This vote is another attempt by Republicans to shield Secretary Hegseth from the accountability Americans deserve,” Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, said in a statement. “His willful disregard for U.S. laws is a clear demonstration that he is unit to serve. His reckless actions have contributed to the horrific killing of civilians in Iran, including at least 120 children. Secretary Hegseth does not get to choose which parts of U.S. law he wants to follow.”
“When Democrats take the majority in the 120th Congress, we hold Secretary Hegseth accountable for his illegal actions,” McCollum added.
Massie had described the motion as a “procedural vote to derail [impeachment] by referring it to committee,” and was the sole Republican to vote against the measure.
Absences may have also hindered Democrats’ efforts to block the procedural measure with 11 members missing the vote, compared to seven Republicans.
The House has only ever impeached two Cabinet Secretaries, Secretary of Defense William Belknap in 1876 and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in 2024, with the process requiring a simple majority in the lower chamber but a two-thirds vote of approval in the Senate.
Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily first published a version of this story.
