House Republicans block bid to impeach Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump calls it ‘exoneration of a great American patriot’

House Republicans voted 211-204 to send articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Judiciary Committee, stalling the effort. The allegations include unauthorized military action, abuse of power and retaliation against a senator.

The motion to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was stalled by the House Republicans on Tuesday after the majority voted to refer the eight articles to the House Judiciary Committee. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted 211 to 204 in favor of referring the articles of impeachment to the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee.

Thomas Massie, the outgoing Kentucky Republican Representative, had earlier warned that vote would kill the impeachment motion.

Allegations against Pete Hegseth

Massie's eight articles of impeachment accused Hegseth of illegally waging war without congressional authorization and abusing his powers as Pentagon chief.

Several related to the eight-month Iran war, accusing him of violating the War Powers Resolution, which places limits on US military interventions without congressional authorization.

Other allegations involved the 2025 conflict with Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis and strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, which Massie branded "extrajudicial killings."

He also accused Hegseth of suppressing free speech by trying to punish Democratic Senator Mark Kelly over a video urging military and intelligence personnel to refuse illegal orders.

What is next for Pete Hegseth?

Massie had hoped to draw votes from Republicans upset with Hegseth's policies and wary of the unpopularity of the Iran war, but no other Republicans joined him. Democrats who had supported the impeachment effort will now have to wait until at least January when they take control of Congress next year.

This is not the first time House Republicans, despite some of them calling for the impeachment of Hegseth, have stalled the vote on it. In September, when Massie initially moved the articles of impeachment against Hegseth, House Speaker Mike Johnson abruptly canceled the final scheduled day of legislative business and sent lawmakers home early, delaying the vote until the midterm elections are over.

On Tuesday, Johnson called the impeachment motion a “political gambit for attention” and predicted Republicans would defeat it “one way or the other.”

Trump calls it exoneration

US President Donald Trump, who continues to publicly support Hegseth, a former Fox News host, celebrated the development, saying the effort to impeach "has miserably FAILED!"

“Every single Republican, except Thomas Massie, a major LOSER, voted in favor of Pete,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Trump added that Hegseth's performance on Iran, Venezuela and other issues "led to the EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot."

Vice President JD Vance also backed the defense secretary, saying he had "obviously not" committed impeachable offenses.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, in a post on X, called the vote as a "TOTAL VICTORY!"

"We look forward to ending this sham impeachment in the committee room, where facts will continue to prevail and this distraction can be put to rest," Parnell added.

Hegseth earlier Tuesday dismissed the impeachment effort as a "farce" and defended his record leading the Iran war and other military operations under Trump.

"It's a farce, and it's a stunt, and everybody knows it," he said at a Pentagon press conference, branding the accusations "slander" and "sabotage."