The House on Tuesday voted 211-204 to refer Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-KY) impeachment resolution against War Secretary Pete Hegseth to committee, sidelining the effort. Massie was the lone Republican to oppose the procedural motion, joining all present Democrats in the losing vote.
The vote marked a final and decisive defeat for the outgoing Kentucky congressman, who introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth over the administration’s military operations in Iran, Yemen, Venezuela, and the Caribbean. Massie had attempted to launch impeachment proceedings before the midterm elections in September, but the House was adjourned before representatives could come to a vote.
Massie lost his Republican primary earlier this year to Trump-backed Ed Gallrein and will leave Congress in January.
Republicans outside of Massie voted unanimously to shut down the effort, even as some have criticized Hegseth’s leadership of the Pentagon. Several GOP lawmakers said before the vote that they disagreed with the secretary’s decisions but did not believe they amounted to the “high crimes and misdemeanors” required for impeachment.
Massie defended his resolution on the House floor, arguing that Hegseth “has violated the norms of war, and it’s to the disadvantage and the dishonor of our country, and to the danger of our soldiers in future conflicts,” Massie said on Tuesday, according to NBC. “Somebody’s got to put their foot down and say, are we going to follow the laws that are on the books? Are we going to follow the Constitution?”
The resolution included eight articles accusing Hegseth of unlawful conduct. Three focused on the war in Iran, alleging that he waged military operations without congressional authorization, defied congressional directives, and continued hostilities in violation of the War Powers Resolution. Another accused him of failing to take sufficient steps to minimize civilian casualties, citing a strike on an Iranian school.
The remaining articles targeted U.S. strikes against suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, the operation that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, the military campaign in Yemen, and Hegseth’s treatment of Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) after the senator participated in a video urging service members to refuse unlawful orders.
Hegseth dismissed the impeachment effort during a Tuesday morning news conference at the Pentagon, calling it a “farce” and a “stunt.” He maintained that the military operations cited by Massie were lawful and argued that the resolution undermined American troops.
“We destroyed terror regimes’ capabilities. We sank the boats carrying poison into our communities. We put a narco dictator in handcuffs,” Hegseth said. “These are not high crimes. This is the job, and it’s the job well done.”
President Donald Trump also stood firmly behind his defense secretary, praising Hegseth’s performance and attacking Massie on Truth Social as a “disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman” and a “TOTAL LOSER.”
Even some of Hegseth’s Republican critics rejected Massie’s approach. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who is retiring, said he had serious disagreements with the secretary, particularly over the removal of senior military officers, but did not support impeachment.
“I don’t think he’s been a good secretary, but do you impeach a guy for that? It has to be a high crime or misdemeanor,” Bacon said Monday.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), also leaving Congress, suggested Massie was pursuing the effort in part because of his primary defeat. Issa argued that even if the resolution passed the House, the Senate would not have the votes necessary to convict Hegseth.
Democratic leaders, meanwhile, have promised to continue pursuing Hegseth after taking control of Congress in January. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who is expected to become speaker, previously called himself a “hard yes” on impeachment and said Democrats would “run Pete Hegseth out of town.”
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer also endorsed the effort.
Tuesday’s procedural vote prevents Massie’s resolution from advancing to a full impeachment vote under the current Republican-led House. With Democrats preparing to assume control of both chambers next year, however, Hegseth could face renewed pressure from congressional investigators and Democratic lawmakers.
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