Hegseth Impeachment: House Votes to Refer Massie's Articles to the Judiciary Committee, Blocking the Effort for Now
The House on Tuesday evening voted to refer Rep. Thomas Massie's eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth back to the Judiciary Committee — a move the Wall Street Journal reports effectively blocks the effort for now, with Democrats expected to revive it in January.
WASHINGTON — The House on Tuesday evening voted to refer the articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth back to the Judiciary Committee for consideration, effectively blocking the effort for now, the Wall Street Journal reported. Scripps News reported the same outcome: House Republicans stalled the impeachment effort by voting to refer the articles to committee.
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky introduced the eight articles on Monday. As Scripps reported, they accuse Hegseth of violating federal war powers laws in connection with the war in Iran, as well as other alleged high crimes and misdemeanors. The articles are allegations in a political charging document; Hegseth has not been charged with any crime, and no court or inspector general has made findings on them.
Hegseth answered the effort earlier Tuesday at the Pentagon, in his first press conference in more than six months. He called the impeachment effort a “farce,” Scripps reported, argued that the dispute is a policy disagreement rather than a high crime or misdemeanor, and compared the push to the impeachments of President Donald Trump. “They impeached President Trump over a perfect phone call,” he said, as carried by Scripps. “They impeached him again in his final week in office. Both times they failed.”
President Trump hailed the House decision in a social-media post later Tuesday, Scripps reported, writing in part that every Republican except Massie had voted in favor of Hegseth. At the same press conference, Hegseth also pressed Congress on a different fight, urging lawmakers to pass the Pentagon's $1.5 trillion budget request, the Journal reported.
The referral does not end the matter permanently. House Democrats are expected to revive the effort when they take control of Congress in January, the Journal reported. If Hegseth were ultimately impeached by the House, he would become only the third Cabinet member in U.S. history to be impeached, Scripps noted, and removal would still require a two-thirds vote in the Senate.
