The House of Representatives has blocked an attempt to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, voting 211-204 on Tuesday night to send the articles to committee — and the absence of 11 Democratic lawmakers proved decisive in saving the Pentagon chief.
Key Points
- Hegseth impeachment vote — the House voted 211-204 to refer Thomas Massie’s eight articles of impeachment to the Judiciary Committee, effectively killing them.
- Massie was the sole Republican to oppose the referral; all 203 Democrats who voted opposed it too.
- Eighteen members were absent — 11 Democrats and seven Republicans. Had the 11 Democrats voted no, the referral would have failed 211-215.
- Democrats take control of the House and Senate on 3 January and could revive the effort in the new Congress.
The vote was not on whether to impeach Hegseth. It was a procedural vote on whether to send the articles to the House Judiciary Committee, where they can sit indefinitely. The move, recorded as Roll Call 317 at 6:02 p.m. Washington time, in effect kills the impeachment drive for the remaining eight weeks of the current Congress. The Republican-led House retains narrow majorities in both chambers until the new Congress convenes on 3 January, when Democrats take control and could bring the articles back.
The articles were filed on Monday by Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, as a privileged resolution, which forced House leadership to act within two legislative days. They accuse Hegseth of “high crimes and misdemeanors”, mostly tied to the war with Iran — including three articles alleging violations of the War Powers Resolution of 1973 for waging war without congressional approval — as well as military actions in Yemen and Venezuela. These are allegations in a political charging document, not findings by a court, a military tribunal or an inspector general, and Hegseth has not been charged with any crime.
The eleven who were not there
The arithmetic of the night turned on who did not show up. The 211 votes in favour of referral came from 210 Republicans and one independent, Representative Kevin Kiley of California. Massie was the only Republican to break ranks. Had all 11 absent Democrats attended and voted with their colleagues, the motion would have failed and the House would have been forced into a full debate and vote on the charges themselves, possibly as early as this week.
The absent Democrats were Julia Brownley, Lou Correa, Nancy Pelosi, Laura Gillen, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Brittany Pettersen, Melanie Stansbury, Haley Stevens, Marilyn Strickland and Frederica Wilson. Seven Republicans were also absent. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who backs impeaching Hegseth and hopes to be Speaker in January, did not whip the vote, telling members to vote their conscience — and afterwards said he had not spoken to anyone on the floor team about what happened. Stansbury said she was blocked from entering the Capitol by a traffic incident and a police escort of a bus, and immediately filed her vote as “no” in the Congressional Record.
What happens next
Massie, who is leaving Congress in January after losing a primary to a Trump-backed challenger, said after the vote that he was “disappointed” but not surprised. The vote came on the same day Hegseth had scheduled his first Pentagon press conference in more than 180 days, to defend a tenure that has been defined by the Iran war and by the midterm rout that cost Republicans control of Congress.
For Democrats, the reprieve is temporary. When they take the House in January, a simple majority would be enough to impeach; conviction in the Senate would still require two-thirds. Whether the new majority wants to spend its first weeks relitigating the Iran war — or to move on — is the question the absent eleven have now left it to answer.
For background on the filing, see our report on Massie forcing the Hegseth impeachment vote, and on Jeffries backing impeachment as a “hard yes”. More in our Politics section.
Sources: Al Jazeera, “Did Democrats save Pete Hegseth from impeachment?” (https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2026/11/11/did-democrats-save-pete-hegseth-from-impeachment); Times Now, “Which 11 House Democrats Did Not Vote to Advance Hegseth’s Impeachment?” (https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/pete-hegseth-impeachment-vote-house-democrats-nancy-pelosi-haley-stevens-thomas-massie-article-156492289/amp).