Rep. Melanie Stansbury, a New Mexico Democrat, said a traffic incident prevented her and other lawmakers from reaching the Capitol in time Tuesday to oppose a Republican move that effectively shelved the impeachment effort against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. She said she entered the House chamber moments after the vote had ended.
In a statement posted on X, Stansbury’s office attributed the delay to a traffic incident and a police escort involving a bus during the vote. The statement said other members of Congress also were blocked from entering the Capitol to vote. By the time Stansbury reached the chamber, proceedings on the motion had just concluded.
The House approved the motion to refer the impeachment measure to the Judiciary Committee by a vote of 211 to 204. That decision effectively put aside the effort to impeach Hegseth for the rest of the current Congress. Stansbury had intended to vote against the referral, according to her office.
After arriving, Stansbury immediately filed a report stating that she opposed the motion, her office said, adding that her position was documented in the Congressional Record. Her statement characterized the referral as an attempt to kill the impeachment articles and called for Hegseth’s immediate impeachment.
The vote came a day after Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, reintroduced eight articles of impeachment against the defense secretary. The articles accuse Hegseth of breaching the Constitution and federal law through military operations in Iran, Yemen, the Caribbean and other locations. Those accusations formed the basis of Massie’s renewed impeachment effort.
Hegseth has denied the allegations and portrayed Massie’s campaign as driven by personal resentment. In rejecting the accusations, he described the Kentucky lawmaker as “one disgruntled and defeated congressman.”
Massie was the sole Republican to join Democrats in voting against the referral to the Judiciary Committee. No Democrats voted in favor of the motion. Rep. Kiley, a California independent, sided with Republicans in supporting the move to send the resolution to committee.
Separately, Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, predicted Monday that impeachment was likely once Democrats take control of the House, unless Hegseth resigns or President Trump dismisses him. Speaking on his podcast, “The Verdict,” Cruz argued that Democrats would have enough votes to impeach the defense secretary and described that outcome as extremely likely, if not certain.
