The House on Tuesday blocked an effort by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, sending the resolution to the Judiciary Committee in a vote that effectively killed it. The measure focused largely on Hegseth's role in the war with Iran, which has entered its ninth month.
The vote was 211 to 204, with Massie the only Republican joining all Democrats who voted in opposing the referral. Seven Republicans and 11 Democrats were absent. Although Republicans have expressed frustration with Hegseth's management of the war, many did not consider his actions grounds for impeachment.
Massie said the outcome disappointed him but did not come as a surprise. He accused members of Congress of failing to act despite knowing what they should do, even when taking action could help them politically. On Monday, he said he would not introduce another resolution seeking Hegseth's impeachment. Massie lost his primary earlier this year and will retire in early January.
Democrats could pursue the matter again, particularly after they regain control of both chambers of Congress in January. Following the vote, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York indicated that the issue would continue. "This is not the end of it. It's just the beginning," he said.
Massie also said Tuesday that he intended to force a vote on a war powers resolution. He questioned whether Republicans who had attributed their election defeat to the war would continue voting in support of it, setting up another test of lawmakers' positions on the conflict.
The impeachment resolution alleged that Hegseth abused his office by launching the Iran war without approval from Congress and disregarding laws intended to limit civilian casualties. It also accused him of directing extrajudicial killings through Pentagon boat strikes in the Caribbean, directing the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and retaliating against Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, among other allegations.
At a Tuesday morning news conference, Hegseth dismissed the impeachment push as a "farce" and a "political spectacle." He argued that the allegations concerned partisan policy disputes rather than high crimes or misdemeanors, and accused his critics of trying to politicize the military. President Trump also mocked the effort, saying it "miserably FAILED!"
Only two U.S. Cabinet secretaries have previously been impeached. William Belknap, the secretary of war, was impeached in 1876 over a corruption scandal and acquitted by the Senate. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was impeached in 2024 over his handling of the southern border, but the Senate dismissed the charges.
