Washington: House Republicans on Tuesday successfully blocked a bid to to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, halting an effort to remove the Pentagon chief for his conduct in office and his handling of the war in Iran.
The House on Tuesday turned aside the resolution by a narrow 211-204 vote wherein lawmakers agreed to refer the impeachment resolution to a committee.
GOP defends Hegseth
The procedural move, aggressively pushed by Republican leaders, effectively buries the measure introduced by Grand Old Party (GOP) Representative Thomas Massie and that which is backed by Democrats.
The vote came as Republicans grapple with the fallout from sweeping midterm losses that some in the party have blamed on the war in Iran and the resulting surge in gas prices.
After US President Donald Trump signalled strong support for Hegseth, GOP lawmakers largely stood by the secretary on Tuesday.
Only a temporary relief for Hegseth
The vote may only delay an impeachment push against Hegseth, with Democrats set to take control of the House and Senate in January.
With Democrats having swept the midterm elections, the balance of power will fundamentally shift when the 120th Congress convenes in January.
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Once the incoming Democratic majority takes formal control of the chamber under Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, lawmakers are widely expected to revive the impeachment push against Hegseth, once again.
The resolution moved by Massie
Massie had moved a privileged resolution containing eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth, alleging that the War Secretary violated the US Constitution and the War Powers Act by prosecuting unauthorised military strikes against Iran and Yemen, as well as the operation leading to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Hegseth has maintained that all military actions were lawful and executed strictly under the authority of the Commander-in-Chief.
Earlier in the day, Massie intensified his bid to unseat Hegseth by detailing the legal foundation of his impeachment resolution under Article III, accusing Hegseth of directly violating the War Powers framework by prosecuting military actions without legislative approval.
"IMPEACHMENT, Article III. The law requires our military to withdraw from hostilities within 60 days if Congress does not authorize the activity. Operation Epic Fury has been underway for 256 days. Congress has not authorized it. Hegseth is breaking the law. Not even debatable," Massie posted on X.
IMPEACHMENT, Article IIIThe law requires our military to withdraw from hostilities within 60 days if Congress does not authorize the activity.Operation Epic Fury has been underway for 256 days. Congress has not authorized it.Hegseth is breaking the law.Not even debatable.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) November 10, 2026
Trump blasts Massie
Backing the Pentagon chief following his remarks, President Trump awarded Hegseth an "A" PLUS PLUS PLUS on Truth Social, while launching a blistering counter-attack against Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who introduced the measure.
"Pete Hegseth gets an 'A' PLUS PLUS PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman, Thomas Massie, a TOTAL LOSER!" Trump posted.
(With inputs from AP via PTI & ANI)
