House Republicans block resolution to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth

The Story

The U.S. House on Tuesday rejected a procedural attempt to advance a resolution to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, halting the effort to remove the Pentagon chief for alleged conduct in office and his handling of the war in Iran.

The vote was led by Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie and backed by Democrats. Republicans largely stood by Hegseth after President Donald Trump signaled strong support for him.

Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries, expected to become speaker when Democrats take charge in January, said Hegseth has “abused his power” and “undermined America’s national security.” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer also endorsed Hegseth’s impeachment.

Hegseth responded to the effort Tuesday in his first news conference in months, describing Massie as a “rogue lawmaker” and arguing he had not committed the “high crimes” required for removal under the U.S. Constitution. Hegseth framed the impeachment push as an attack on service members and said it was undermining U.S. forces “in real time.” He said, “This is not patriotism. This is sabotage.”

Massie’s impeachment resolution included eight counts focused largely on the war in Iran, along with references to Hegseth’s role in military actions in Yemen and Venezuela. Massie said Hegseth has “knowingly executed and implemented unlawful orders.”

The resolution was filed in the House on Monday, giving GOP leaders two days to bring it to a vote. Tuesday’s procedural move sent the matter back to committee rather than letting it move toward a House impeachment vote.

If the resolution had advanced, it would have set up a potential Wednesday vote on whether to impeach another Trump Cabinet member, following Republican losses in last week’s midterm elections that Democrats said were tied, at least in part, to the Iran conflict and its economic impact.

Massie’s resolution also argued that the law requires the military to withdraw from hostilities within 60 days if Congress does not authorize the activity, saying the Iran war “has been underway for 256 days” without authorization. He said Hegseth is breaking the law.

Among the counts, Massie pointed to reported reductions in staff and resources at a Pentagon office focused on mitigating civilian harm, which he said preceded a U.S. missile strike on an Iranian primary school that killed up to 168 people. Another count addressed Hegseth’s attempt to punish Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired Navy pilot, for participating in a video urging troops to resist unlawful orders.

Massie also cited U.S. military strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in Latin America and what he said was a failure to rescue survivors, arguing that such outcomes could encourage adversaries to treat U.S. forces the same way.

Hegseth said Massie’s concerns do not amount to impeachable offences, calling them “policy disagreements, not high crimes, not misdemeanors, not treason, not bribery, not the kinds of offenses the founders intended when they wrote the impeachment clause.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson called the effort “a political gambit for attention” and said Republicans would defeat it “one way or the other.” Jeffries said Monday he was a “hard yes” on the resolution and called Hegseth the “architect” of the war in Iran.