Eleven House Democrats, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), missed the vote to advance the articles of impeachment against War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday.
The impeachment bid is effectively dead after the Republican-controlled House voted 211-204 to refer the articles of impeachment to the House Judiciary Committee. The move will most likely keep them stuck in committee until Democrats take control of the lower chamber of Congress in January 2027.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who led the impeachment resolution, was the sole Republican to vote in favor of the measure. Seven Republicans, along with 11 Democrats, failed to cast their votes.
Pelosi missed the vote to attend a Veterans Day event in San Francisco, a spokesperson for the congresswoman said, adding that she would have voted “no” on the motion to kill the impeachment effort if she were present.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), who was one of the Democrats to miss the vote, blamed her absence on local traffic.
“Like other Members of Congress, Rep. Stansbury was blocked from entering the Capitol to vote due a traffic incident and a police escort of a bus during the vote,” she posted on X. “When she reached the chamber the vote had just gaveled out. She immediately filed a report of her vote of ‘NO’ to the motion meant to kill the impeachment articles and refer them to the Judiciary Committee, as documented in the Congressional Record.”
The other nine Democrats were Reps. Julia Brownley (D-CA), Lou Correa (D-CA), Laura Gillen (D-NY), Steven Horsford (D-NV), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), and Frederica Wilson (D-FL).
Correa could not vote on Hegseth’s impeachment because he was away for an unspecified medical procedure, and Pettersen claimed she “was denied the ability to vote on this motion.”
Like Stansbury, Jackson was delayed by a traffic incident and a police-escorted bus. Separately, a spokesperson for Strickland said she “was stuck behind a motorcade and missed the vote by 1 minute.”
The seven Republicans who were unable to vote were Reps. Monica De La Cruz (R-TX), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Russell Fry (R-SC), Julia Letlow (R-LA), Tom Tiffany (R-WI), Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), and Rudy Yakym (R-IN).
Of the eight articles of impeachment Massie brought against Hegseth, three of them concerned the U.S. military waging war against Iran and another centered on the overthrow of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.
While the impeachment bid is dead for now, Democrats will likely take up the effort next year after they assume the House majority. Pettersen said she expects Hegseth will be impeached, adding that neither Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) nor President Donald Trump “will be able to stop us.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who is angling for the speakership in the new Congress, echoed that sentiment, insisting the failed vote would not stymie the impeachment effort.
“I haven’t had a conversation with anyone on the floor team about what may or may not have happened in terms of the Hegseth resolution, but this is not the end of it. It’s just the beginning,” Jeffries told Politico.
HEGSETH IMPEACHMENT DEAD … FOR NOW: HOUSE REPUBLICANS UNITE TO BLOCK MASSIE’S EFFORTS
In the meantime, Trump celebrated the impeachment bid’s failure while slamming Massie and Democrats for voting against the war secretary.
“The Democrats’ attempt to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has miserably FAILED!” he posted on Truth Social. “Every single Republican, except Thomas Massie, a major LOSER, voted in favor of Pete. Again, Victories in Venezuela and Iran, the Best Recruitment Numbers in the History of the Military (Long waiting lists to get in!), and Spirit like rarely seen before, led to the EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot. The Democrats continue to weaponize and abuse the United States of America. They must be stopped!”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
