The U.S. House voted 211–204 on Tuesday, Nov. 10, to send an impeachment resolution against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the House Judiciary Committee. The decision sidelined the resolution before the full House could vote on the impeachment charges. Hegseth remains in office.
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who introduced the resolution, was the only Republican to oppose sending it to committee. He joined 203 Democrats in voting against the referral. The motion passed with the support of 210 Republicans and one independent. Eighteen lawmakers did not vote.
Eleven Democrats and seven Republicans did not vote
The official roll call lists 11 Democrats who did not vote, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The others were Julia Brownley, Lou Correa, Laura Gillen, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Brittany Pettersen, Melanie Stansbury, Haley Stevens, Marilyn Strickland and Frederica Wilson. Seven Republicans also did not vote. The record does not give reasons for any of the missed votes.
Had all 11 Democrats voted against the referral and every other vote stayed the same, the motion would have failed, with 215 votes against and 211 in favor. That would have kept the resolution from being sent to committee through that motion. Impeachment itself would still have required a separate House vote.
Massie’s charges focused on the Iran war
Massie brought eight articles of impeachment to the House on Monday. The resolution accused Hegseth of carrying out military operations against Iran without congressional authorization. It also challenged U.S. operations in Yemen and Venezuela and accused Hegseth of retaliating against Sen. Mark Kelly after Kelly told service members they could refuse unlawful orders.
Hegseth rejected the accusations at a Pentagon news conference Tuesday. He defended the military operations as lawful and called the impeachment effort a “political spectacle.” President Donald Trump also defended Hegseth.
The resolution is now with the Republican-led Judiciary Committee. If the House later approves an article of impeachment, the case would go to the Senate, where removal from office would require a two-thirds vote to convict.
Sources: Official House roll call, Reuters, Associated Press, ABC News
By NJ RADAR Team