Hegseth impeachment articles sent to committee, effectively blocking effort

The House derailed an effort by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on the evening of Nov. 10 by voting 211 to 204 to refer his measure to the House Judiciary Committee, effectively killing the effort. Massie was the only Republican to vote against the referral.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., introduced a motion to refer the articles of impeachment to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration after the charges were read by the clerk. The Judiciary Committee is chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who earlier in the day was chosen as the minority leader for the Republicans in the 2027 Congress. 

While the current resolution will likely not be considered before the end of the current session of Congress, Democrats have said they will take up the matter when they take power on Jan. 3. Current House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who is expected to become speaker, told rally attendees last month that “one of the first things we’re going to do is run Pete Hegseth out of town.”

Reflecting the views of the current Republican caucus, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told CBS News Nov. 10 that “impeaching a Cabinet secretary right now … in the middle of hostilities abroad would be a terrible, terrible look.”

Prior to this evening’s vote, Massie read the articles on the House floor Nov. 9.

Massie first introduced a nearly identical resolution Sept. 15, but Johnson adjourned the House before a vote could occur. He filed updated articles Nov. 9 to comply with parliamentary procedure, which restarted the two-day clock.

The eight articles allege that Hegseth waged the Iran war without congressional approval in violation of the War Powers Resolution, ignored laws meant to minimize civilian casualties, oversaw lethal strikes on suspected drug boats, retaliated against Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and acted unlawfully in Venezuela by detaining a foreign leader and attacking Yemen without proper authorization.

“Congress must not turn a blind eye to Secretary Hegseth’s unconstitutional and illegal actions,” Massie said in a September news release.

Hegseth held his first Pentagon news conference in six months Nov. 10 and said Massie’s concerns are policy disagreements, not high crimes. “This is not patriotism. This is sabotage,” he said, referring to the impeachment effort. 

President Donald Trump praised Hegseth in a social media post minutes after the briefing and insulted Massie. Trump had said Nov. 5 that he intends to keep Hegseth.

While passage in the current House would need at least three Republicans, assuming all Democrats vote in favor and depending on absences, conviction in the Senate is an even steeper hill to climb, requiring more than a dozen Republican votes. Massie, who lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger, leaves Congress in January.