Key takeaways:
- The House voted 211-204 to refer the impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee, effectively ending the effort.
- Massie was the only Republican to vote with Democrats against referring the resolution.
- Hegseth said the military operations were lawful and called the allegations partisan policy disagreements.
The Republican-led House blocked an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday, voting 211-204 to send a resolution accusing him of unlawful military actions to the Judiciary Committee. The referral effectively ended the push.
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who wrote the resolution, was the only Republican to join Democrats in opposing the referral. His eight articles of impeachment focused largely on the war in Iran but also challenged U.S. military actions in Yemen, Venezuela and the Caribbean.
Massie accused Hegseth of waging war against Iran without a declaration of war, statutory authorization, an attack on the United States or an imminent threat. The resolution also alleged that Hegseth continued the war after Congress directed the removal of U.S. forces and after a 60-day limit under the War Powers Resolution had expired. Another article accused him of ignoring laws intended to minimize civilian casualties, according to NBC News.
Other articles alleged that Hegseth directed extrajudicial killings of suspected drug traffickers at sea, including follow-up strikes on survivors, and oversaw orders not to rescue shipwrecked people. Massie also accused him of illegally seizing and deposing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, retaliating against Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona for telling service members not to follow unlawful orders, and carrying out an unlawful war in Yemen, NBC News reported.
Hegseth rejected the accusations at a Pentagon news conference before the vote. “It’s a farce, and it’s a stunt and everybody knows it,” he said, calling the impeachment effort a “political spectacle.” He said the operations cited by Massie were lawful. “They’re partisan policy disagreements from people who want to politicize our military,” he said, according to CBS News.
“We destroyed terror regimes’ capabilities. We sank the boats carrying poison into our communities. We put a narco dictator in handcuffs. These are not high crimes. This is the job, and it’s the job well done,” Hegseth said.
Massie said Hegseth had “violated the norms of war” to the detriment of the country and the safety of U.S. troops in future conflicts. “Somebody’s got to put their foot down and say, are we going to follow the laws that are on the books? Are we going to follow the Constitution?” he said.
President Donald Trump publicly backed Hegseth after the news conference, praising his defense against Massie in a Truth Social post. Massie lost his Republican primary earlier this year and is retiring in early January, according to CBS News. He said Monday that he would not introduce another impeachment resolution.
Some Republicans who have criticized Hegseth opposed impeachment. Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska said he disagreed with the secretary on several issues but did not support Massie’s resolution. Rep. Darrell Issa of California said Hegseth had committed no “high crimes or misdemeanors” and argued that a conviction in the Senate would not have enough votes.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries supported the resolution. Democrats could pursue the issue again when they take control of Congress in January, CBS News reported.
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