Hegseth impeachment effort torpedoed in House

The House of Representatives in a vote Tuesday effectively torpedoed an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The House approved a procedural measure that will refer the impeachment resolution to a committee, leaving little, if any, time for the committee and full House to act on it before Democrats take over the chamber with a new majority in early January.

The articles of impeachment were brought by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

Limited time remains, however, with Democrats set to take over both the House and Senate in January.

House Republican leadership had sought to kill Massie's effort by referring it to a committee.

The vote came a week after the midterm elections, where Democrats trounced Republicans in the first congressional election since the Iran war broke out in February.

The House of Representatives began voting Tuesday afternoon on a key procedural measure that could lead to the impeachment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The vote comes a week after Democrats trounced Republicans in the first congressional election since the war with Iran started in late February.

Hegseth faces eight articles of impeachment filed by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., on Monday.

Massie accuses Hegseth of waging war in contravention of Congress, carrying out extrajudicial killings tied to boat strikes in the Caribbean against purported drug smugglers and suppressing free speech by targeting Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a military veteran.

Massie is a libertarian who lost his Republican primary in May after clashing with President Donald Trump.

Hegseth, at a press conference at the Pentagon earlier Tuesday, railed against Massie and defended his leadership in the Iran war and other military operations.

"What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it's not accountability. It's a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment," Hegseth said

"It's a farce, and it's a stunt, and everybody knows it," Hegseth said. "It puts a target on the backs of American warriors by signaling that Congress will undermine their missions in real time.

This is not patriotism. This is sabotage."

Trump, in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, said Hegseth "gets an 'A' PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman, Thomas Massie, a TOTAL LOSER!"

Trump said Monday that he would stand by Hegseth even if the House impeaches him. The president was impeached by the House two times during his first White House term. The Senate acquitted him in both cases.

Republicans hold a slim 218-214 majority in the House.

Some Republicans, notably including Vice President JD Vance, have directly blamed their midterm losses on the Iran war, which continues to see intermittent fighting amid an uneasy stalemate.

If Hegseth is impeached, the Senate would hold a trial and vote on whether to remove him from office. A two-thirds majority is required for conviction and removal.

No Cabinet secretary has ever been removed by the Senate. Just two have been impeached.