House Republican leaders and White House officials joined forces on Tuesday night to block an impeachment attempt against Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, giving President Donald Trump a political win at a time when his party is dealing with disappointing midterm election results. The move came after Republican Representative Thomas Massie pushed for Hegseth's removal, setting up a clash within the party.
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The impeachment resolution was blocked in a 211-204 vote. Lawmakers voted to send the proposal to a committee instead of allowing it to come up for debate or a direct vote in the House. According to CNN, Republican leaders worked with senior White House officials to convince lawmakers to oppose the impeachment effort.
Massie's resolution listed eight grounds for impeaching Hegseth. He accused the US Secretary of War of violating the Constitution and the War Powers Act by ordering military strikes against Iran and Yemen without getting approval from Congress. It also questioned Hegseth's alleged role in overseeing the military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
While the vote has put the immediate impeachment effort on hold, it may not be the end of the matter. Democrats are expected to take control of both the House and Senate in January, which could give them another opportunity to pursue action against Hegseth.
President Donald Trump welcomed the outcome and wasted little time in criticising those behind the impeachment effort. In a post on Truth Social shortly after the vote, he described the attempt as a "miserable failure" and praised Republicans for standing by Hegseth.
Trump also singled out Thomas Massie, the Republican lawmaker who introduced the resolution and went against his party's position.
"The Democrats' attempt to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has miserably FAILED! Every single Republican, except Thomas Massie, a major LOSER, voted in favor of Pete," Trump wrote.
Defending Hegseth's performance at the Pentagon, Trump pointed to military operations involving Venezuela and Iran, as well as what he described as record recruitment figures for the US armed forces. He also praised the morale among military personnel.
"Again, Victories in Venezuela and Iran, the Best Recruitment Numbers in the History of the Military (Long waiting lists to get in!), and Spirit like rarely seen before, led to the EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot," Trump said.
Trump ended his post by accusing Democrats of using political power against his administration and called for an end to what he described as the misuse of congressional authority.
"The Democrats continue to weaponize and abuse the United States of America. They must be stopped! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN," he added.