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House votes 211-204 to send Hegseth impeachment charges to committee, stalling them

Rep. Thomas Massie was the only Republican to oppose the move, and nearly a dozen Democrats missed the vote, Semafor reports.

Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on November 10, 2026
Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on November 10, 2026. Photo: U.S. Secretary of War, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
16 news outlets reported this
Liberal4 outletsDemocrats' caution and absences after the failed voteCenter5 outletsThe procedural vote that shelved the impeachment articlesConservative7 outletsDemocrats' real target is Trump, not Hegseth
ABRAnews EditorialPublished 1 min read
Overview

The House voted 211-204 on Tuesday, Nov. 10, to send eight articles of against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee instead of voting on them. The move all but ensures the articles will not be voted on in this , Deseret News reports. Rep. Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican who filed them, was the only Republican to join Democrats against the referral.

The articles accuse Hegseth of launching the Iran war without congressional approval and of unlawful strikes on suspected drug traffickers, among other charges. Hours before the vote, Hegseth called the effort a "political spectacle" at a Pentagon news conference. Trump wrote that Hegseth "should be praised, not Impeached."

Nearly a dozen Democrats missed the vote, Semafor reports. According to people familiar with her remarks, Minority Whip Katherine Clark told Democrats in a private session Wednesday that their side had let the American public down by failing to get its full membership to attend the vote. Democrats including Clark say they likely could not have won anyway.

Some Democrats, including Rep. Adam Smith, want to move slowly on any new push next year. Semafor adds that another lawmaker could force a vote in the next Congress.

Key figures
  • 211-204House vote to send the articles to the Judiciary CommitteeDeseret News
  • eight articles of impeachmentfiled by Massie against HegsethDeseret News
  • Nearly a dozenDemocrats who missed the Tuesday voteSemafor
  • two-thirdsSenate majority needed to convictDeseret News

Three sides of the story

4Liberal5Center7Conservative

16 news outlets reported this

Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.

Liberal4 outlets

Democrats' caution and absences after the failed vote

Semafor leads with Democratic caution: some party members want to slow any push to impeach Hegseth next year after the attempt on Tuesday fell short. Rep. Adam Smith, the top Armed Services Democrat, says the party should not "hastily make" its decisions and worries about infighting that could pull attention from cost-of-living issues. Nearly a dozen Democrats missed the Tuesday vote, blaming traffic and scheduling conflicts, among other reasons.

Semafor reports, citing people familiar, that Minority Whip Katherine Clark told Democrats in a closed-door meeting that the party had disappointed Americans by not having every member there. Democrats including Clark note they likely could not have won, since Massie was the only Republican defector. Rep. Jim Himes wants oversight "under our own timetable, not Tom Massie's," while Rep. Greg Meeks says "Everything's on the table."

Semafor adds that another lawmaker could force a vote in the next Congress regardless of what Democratic leaders prefer.

Center5 outlets

The procedural vote that shelved the impeachment articles

Deseret News reports that Republican leaders "defeat" the articles, which went to the Judiciary Committee by 211-204, a move it says effectively kills the effort. Massie was the only Republican to join Democrats against it, and all four Utah House members voted to refer. The outlet sets the vote amid rising frustration with Hegseth as the Iran war continues beyond eight months, noting that some administration officials, like Vice President JD Vance, have distanced themselves from the war.

It quotes Rep. Nick LaLota saying impeachment should be reserved for "high crimes and against the country," and Hegseth accusing Massie of "sabotage." A second Deseret piece covers Hegseth's Pentagon press conference, his first in six months, where he called the effort "a political spectacle" and "a farce." It quotes Trump: "Pete Hegseth should be praised, not Impeached."

It also lists Massie's eight articles and notes that conviction needs two-thirds.

Conservative7 outlets

Democrats' real target is Trump, not Hegseth

Townhall argues that Democrats cannot impeach Trump, so "they will go after his top officials instead," and that the push is going to return even after the failed procedural vote. It embeds former press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying Hegseth acted "at the request" of the president. RedState reports the 211-204 referral, with every Republican present except Massie voting yes, and calls Massie's move a "stunt" backed by "revenge-hungry Democrats."

It features Hegseth's line "Policy disagreements. Not high crimes," and law professor Jonathan Turley calling Rep. Jason Crow's impeachment comments "constitutionally incomprehensible." The American Conservative says Massie reintroduced the articles on Monday, which mainly concern boat strikes in the Caribbean and the Iran war.

Just the News runs a reader poll and says the articles accuse Hegseth of illegally launching the war and killing hundreds of civilians in boat strikes, citing Politico.

What a side did not mention
  • Centrist outlets did not mentionNearly a dozen Democrats missed the procedural vote Reported by Semafor
  • Conservative outlets did not mentionNearly a dozen Democrats missed the procedural vote Reported by Semafor
All sources: 26 articles from 16 outlets

Liberal (5)

Center (8)

Conservative (13)

Related
  1. Hegseth vows not to back down as a Republican congressman plans impeachment push
  2. Defense Secretary Hegseth vows to fight impeachment as Rep. Massie plans to refile charges
  3. Republican Rep. Massie files impeachment charges against Defense Secretary Hegseth over Iran war
  4. House votes 211-204 to block Hegseth impeachment as 11 Democrats miss the vote
  5. House votes 211-204 to send Hegseth impeachment charges to committee, stalling themThis story
Impeachment

A formal accusation against a top official, up to the president, voted by the House of Representatives. Only the Senate can then remove the official, with two-thirds of the votes.

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Congress

The US parliament: the Senate and the House of Representatives. A bill becomes law when both pass it and the president signs it.

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Felony and misdemeanor

A felony is a serious crime that can bring more than a year in prison, and a conviction can cost the right to vote or some jobs. A misdemeanor is a lesser offence: up to a year in jail, a fine or probation.

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Senate

The upper chamber of Congress: 100 senators, two per state, elected for six years. It confirms judges and ministers and approves treaties.

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