House GOP Blocks Massie's Bid to Impeach Hegseth, Vote Sends Resolution to Judiciary Committee

On Tuesday evening, the House of Representatives voted 211-204 to send Rep. Thomas Massie's resolution impeaching Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to the House Judiciary Committee. The move effectively ended the effort and spared the chamber a floor vote on impeachment that could have come Wednesday.

Massie, a Kentucky Republican, had forced the issue by filing a privileged resolution. That mechanism lets a member bypass the wishes of the majority, and it requires the House to take up the measure within two legislative days of filing. GOP leaders could not keep it off the floor, but they could move to refer it to committee, which is what the vote accomplished.

The resolution is broad. It lays out eight articles of impeachment accusing Hegseth of misusing his office. They span the Iran war, U.S. strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean, and his retaliation against Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., over a video in which Kelly called on troops to disobey "unlawful orders."

The vote broke along party lines with one exception. All Democrats present backed moving forward with impeachment, as expected. Every Republican except Massie voted to kill the resolution.

The margin mattered because Republicans had worried about attendance. Their midterm performance the previous week was brutal, and leaders feared a thin turnout on their side could open a path for impeachment to advance. Rep. Jake Ellzey, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital he would vote no and did not expect other Republicans to back Massie's articles. But he said he did not know how many Republicans would be present for the vote. "The real question is how short are we," he said, asking what happens if Democrats are all there and Republicans are not. He called the effort "a ridiculous waste of time." Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who is on his way out of the leadership post, managed to hold the votes together.

Even Republicans critical of Hegseth were reluctant to side with Massie. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, who opposes the administration's involvement in Iran, described the resolution as an attempt to scapegoat Hegseth for Congress shirking its own duty and for presidential action he considers unconstitutional. He argued that holding the defense secretary accountable for a presidential decision would be unprecedented, and that the conduct at issue follows standard procedure for administrations going back to the Korean War. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a vocal Hegseth critic, said he is personally not a fan and does not think Hegseth was the right person for the job, but that he disagrees with what Massie's impeachment articles say.

Hegseth addressed the effort at a news conference Tuesday morning. He called what Massie is attempting "not oversight" and "not accountability," describing it instead as a political spectacle and a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment. He referred to Massie as a disgruntled and defeated congressman. Massie is outgoing.

President Donald Trump celebrated on Truth Social, calling Massie a "major LOSER" and praising Hegseth's record on military operations in Venezuela and Iran and on recruitment. He wrote that the "Democrats' attempt" had "miserably FAILED," and called the outcome the "EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot." Massie is a Republican, and the resolution was his.

With the resolution now in the Judiciary Committee, it is unlikely to move further. The episode did show that Republican leaders' margin on attendance is thin and that a single member with a privileged resolution can force a recorded vote.