Politics

House blocks Hegseth impeachment in 211-204 vote

Washington, D.C. • November 11, 2026 • By Press Pass USA

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaking at a Pentagon press briefing

File photo: Getty Images via TheWrap

The House voted 211-204 on Tuesday to send the articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee, effectively killing the effort in this Congress — a significant victory for the embattled Pentagon chief even as questions about his political future remain.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, who filed the eight articles of impeachment on Monday, was the only Republican to vote against sending them to committee. The referral was a procedural step: the House did not vote on whether Hegseth committed any of the offenses described in the articles, and with the current session set to expire on Jan. 3, there is little or no time for the committee to act before Democrats take control of both chambers in January.

The narrow margin came down in part to absences. Eleven Democrats and seven Republicans did not vote. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was among the absent Democrats, and several members said afterward they were delayed by unexpected traffic coming from a Washington event. The office of Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-New Mexico, said she and other members were "blocked from entering the Capitol to vote due to a traffic incident and a police escort of a bus during the vote." If all of the absent Democrats had shown up to vote, the impeachment effort would have survived.

Massie, an anti-war Republican and frequent critic of the Trump administration, argued that Hegseth violated the Constitution by waging war against Iran without congressional approval, launching deadly strikes against suspected drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and ignoring laws meant to minimize civilian casualties. The articles also cover U.S. strikes against Yemen and the extradition of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. It was Massie's second attempt to bring articles against Hegseth to the House floor; he first filed a 34-page resolution in September and read it aloud on the floor for more than an hour.

President Donald Trump celebrated the outcome on Truth Social. "The Democrats' attempt to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has miserably FAILED!" he wrote, calling the result an "EXONERATION." Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell called the vote a "TOTAL VICTORY!"

At a news conference earlier on Tuesday, Hegseth likened the bid to remove him from office to the two times the House voted to impeach Trump. "Both times he came back stronger, and the American people sent him back to the White House," Hegseth said. "Now they're trying a third time, this time against a member of his Cabinet. They will fail again."

The vote was also a setback for House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is hoping to cement his position as the incoming speaker in a leadership election next week. Jeffries has said Democrats will discuss a new impeachment effort once they hold the majority. Several House Republicans told USA TODAY they were relieved by the outcome but feared it would not stop Democrats from trying again in January. "I'm not sure how we can fight it. We're not going to have the votes to stop it," Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Florida, said. "Here, the only thing that matters is the majority. And we don't have it."

Even after narrowly avoiding an impeachment vote, Hegseth faces lingering frustration among some Republicans. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, who is retiring at the end of the year, said he did not support Massie's rationale for impeachment but pointed to other issues he had with Hegseth. "The areas that concern me most about the secretary aren't in the impeachment," Bacon told reporters. "I'm not the only one that feels that way, a bunch of us have talked about it."

Massie is set to exit Congress at the end of the year after losing his primary to a candidate backed by Hegseth and Trump. He said he would not file another impeachment resolution, but plans to force a vote on a war powers resolution, CBS News reported.

Sources: Reuters, "US House votes to derail impeachment of Defense Secretary Hegseth" (Nov. 10, 2026); USA TODAY, "Pete Hegseth avoids impeachment vote despite growing GOP frustration" (Nov. 10, 2026); NPR, "House votes to effectively end the impeachment effort against Pete Hegseth" (Nov. 10, 2026); Louisville Courier Journal, "Massie-led effort to impeach Hegseth fails to get floor vote" (Nov. 10, 2026).