Democrats' long-shot bid to impeach Pete Hegseth is BLOCKED in House vote after GOP band together to kill post-midterm push as Trump celebrates exoneration

The House blocked an effort to impeach Donald Trump's Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Tuesday, voting to send the resolution to committee rather than hold a vote on the charges.

Lawmakers voted 211 to 204 to refer the measure to the House Judiciary Committee, effectively shelving the impeachment bid.

Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, who introduced the resolution, was the only Republican to oppose that move, joining Democrats in an unsuccessful effort to keep his push alive.

Massie's eight articles of impeachment accuse Hegseth of waging war in Iran without congressional authorization, ignoring laws intended to minimize civilian casualties and illegally directing the seizure of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

The resolution now goes to the Republican-controlled Judiciary Committee, which can take it up or leave it untouched, allowing the impeachment push to stall without a vote on the charges. 

But the reprieve could be short-lived as Democrats are set to take control of Congress on January 3 and could launch a fresh impeachment effort. 

Massie's resolution will expire when the new Congress convenes, meaning another lawmaker would have to reintroduce the charges.

Incoming House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has already backed impeaching Hegseth. 

President Donald Trump's Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth faces an impeachment vote in the House of Representatives this week  

Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie has introduced a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in connection with the US conflict with Iran

Ahead of the vote, Louisiana Republican Clay Higgins told the Daily Mail that the push was '1,000 percent politically motivated,' and added that Massie was not 'constitutionally motivated.'

'It's not an impeachable offense to perform perfect military operations precisely according to the orders of the Commander in Chief,' Higgins said.

Tennessee Republican Tim Burchett told the Daily Mail that 'no crimes were committed' by Hegseth. He also noted that when lawmakers were briefed on the strikes on Venezuelan drug boats, 'nobody complained.'

Hegseth told the press in a rare briefing held at the Pentagon Tuesday morning that he was not afraid of the move to impeach him underway on Capitol Hill.

'What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it's not accountability,' Hegseth stated at the beginning of his remarks, adding, 'It's a political spectacle.' 

'That's what it is: policy disagreements, not high crimes, not misdemeanors, not treason, not bribery, not the kinds of offenses the founders intended when they wrote the impeachment clause.' 

On Monday afternoon, Massie took to the floor of the House of Representatives to read out a 34-page impeachment resolution against Hegseth.

The anti-Trump Kentucky Republican also called out Hegseth for severely limiting press access at the Pentagon.

No Democrat has publicly said they are against backing a resolution introduced by Massie to impeach Hegseth.

With 214 Democrats seated in the House, the party needed only three more Republicans to join them in the impeachment vote. Massie is one, so at least two more Republicans need to turn.

Hegseth has also called Massie 'a disgruntled, defeated congressman' and accused him of dropping 'sham articles of impeachment.'

There were signs that Hegseth's red wall of defense could have cracked beyond Massie. 

Kentucky Republican James Comer, a staunch Trump ally who currently serves as chairman of the House Oversight Committee, believes that the votes to impeach Hegseth may be present in the House this week, but did not commit to a vote himself.

'We really didn't know how to message what the exit strategy was, because I don't think anybody in Congress knows what the exit strategy is,' Comer told Newsmax before noting the following on an impeachment vote.

Arkansas Republican French Hill, who hails from a deep red district but only won his race last week by 4,405 votes, told CBS News that he wants to 'hear the debate' on impeaching Hegseth.

'I want to hear the debate on it to see if it merits impeachment versus some other disciplinary action or action by the president if he's not getting the job done in leading the Department of War. That's the issue,' Hill told CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan on Face The Nation on Sunday.

'If he's not conducting his mission in the right way, then the president ought to make a change there.'

Jeffries was fully backing Massie's impeachment resolution.

'I'm a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution,' Jeffries told ABC This Week anchor Jonathan Karl on Sunday.

'The so-called Secretary of Defense has abused his power, undermined our national security and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed prices on the American people and made the country less safe,' the top House Democrat continued, before adding, 'Pete Hegseth has got to go.'

Massie has blasted Hegseth for committing 'high crimes and misdemeanors,' and for continuing to carry out military actions in Iran despite Congress never formally declaring a conflict in the region.

Massie's introduction of a privileged resolution forced a vote on the matter by using a procedural move that allows issues to bypass the committee process.

He used a similar method to force a vote on the release of the Epstein Files last year, rejecting pressure from GOP leadership to kill his transparency campaign. Massie has also said he would only drop the current impeachment push if Hegseth resigns.

A simple majority was needed in the House to pass an impeachment resolution, but a two-thirds vote is required in the Senate to convict in a trial.

Trump has stood by his Pentagon chief, telling CBS News in a 60 Minutes interview that aired on Sunday that he has confidence in Hegseth.