US House Blocks Attempt to Impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

House Blocks Pete Hegseth Impeachment Bid

The U.S. House of Representatives blocked a procedural effort on November 10, 2026, to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, preventing a floor vote before Democrats assume control of Congress in January.

The chamber voted 211 to 204 in favor of a procedural motion to refer eight articles of impeachment to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee. Outgoing Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie sponsored the impeachment push, warning that the committee referral would effectively kill the resolution.

Massie introduced the impeachment resolution on November 9, 2026, accusing Hegseth of waging unauthorized war in Iran, carrying out extrajudicial killings through Caribbean boat strikes against purported drug smugglers, and targeting lawmakers to suppress free speech. Defense Department spokesperson Jacob Bliss said that Hegseth carried out direct, lawful orders from the President to secure the nation, according to CNBC.

Before the vote, Hegseth defended his leadership at a Pentagon press conference on November 10, 2026. What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it’s not accountability. It’s a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment, Hegseth said, as reported by CNBC.

It’s a farce, and it’s a stunt, and everybody knows it. Hegseth added that It puts a target on the backs of American warriors by signaling that Congress will undermine their missions in real time. He also stated, None of these are high crimes or misdemeanors, calling them partisan policy disagreements from people who want to politicize our military. Hegseth further asserted that he stand[s] behind every one of the actions listed, and that he was proud to execute them, and… It’s just the beginning.

President Donald Trump celebrated the outcome on social media, declaring that the effort had miserably failed. Trump stated that Hegseth’s performance on Iran, Venezuela, and other issues led to the exoneration of a great American patriot. Vice President JD Vance also defended the defense secretary, writing on social media that the push was about Hegseth challenging Pentagon bureaucracy rather than the conflict in Iran.

Democratic lawmakers expressed strong support for the impeachment push. Before the vote, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Monday: Pete Hegseth has abused his power, undermined America’s national security, and he’s the architect of the reckless and costly failed war of choice in Iran. Correa was recovering from an undisclosed medical procedure and could not travel, while seven Republicans also did not vote. Jeffries did not whip the vote, instead telling members to vote their conscience, according to writer Laura Bassett.

Jeffries—who backs impeaching Hegseth—didn’t think it was important to make sure 11 Democrats didn’t skip the Hegseth impeachment vote, author Jared Yates Sexton wrote on Bluesky.

Migrant Insider editor Pablo Manríquez accused Democrats of having a serious leadership problem, and Zeteo reporter Prem Thakker wrote on social media that Jeffries is arguing that he should be the leader of the Democrats—and then, as the current leader, he couldn’t get enough Democrats to show up to impeach Pete Hegseth. Bassett added on social media: This is why people want a stronger leader.

If eight of the absent Democrats had attended and voted against the procedural motion, the measure would have failed and paved the way for a full House impeachment vote.

Hegseth would have been the first U.S. defense secretary to be impeached. The last civilian leader of the military to face impeachment was William Belknap, the secretary of war, in 1876. The Senate ultimately acquitted Belknap after a trial.