In a late-autumn vote that few expected to be decisive, the House chose to bury impeachment charges against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rather than let them reach a floor fight, sending the articles to committee where they can sit indefinitely. The charges, drafted by Representative Thomas Massie, ask whether a cabinet officer may launch a war that Congress never declared and then carry on past the limits of the War Powers Resolution. Those questions are older than this Congress and will outlive it, and the House has, for now, declined to answer them in the open. What remains is a secretary
House Republicans Shelve Impeachment Articles Against Hegseth in 211-204 Procedural Vote
The articles cite Houthi airstrikes in Yemen that killed at least 208 civilians and boat strikes in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean that killed 244 civilians, alongside the Iran war.
"These are not high crimes. This is the job."
Mark
Why does a procedural vote matter so much here?
Mimi
Referring to committee lets Republicans park the articles indefinitely, so it works as a kill without a direct vote on the charges.
Mark
Massie was the only Republican against it. Is that a sign of how isolated he is?
Mimi
He lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger, and Hegseth used that to paint him as disgruntled. Massie says the vote proves Trump still controls the conference.
Luke
That's Massie's reading. The vote count alone doesn't show why each Republican voted. Some reportedly thought impeachment was the wrong tool, not that Hegseth was blameless.
Mark
What about the absences?
Mimi
Eleven Democrats and seven Republicans didn't vote. More Democrats missed it, which helped Republicans, who had feared attendance problems.
Luke
And the margin was seven votes, so those absences mattered. Still, we can't say how absent members would have voted.
Mark
Do the legal claims hold?
Mimi
Article II faces doubt under I.N.S. v. Chadha, and the administration argues the president has constitutional authority. Hegseth's history claims were also contradicted, like Belknap's 1876 impeachment.
Luke
Right, and the civilian death figures, 208 and 244, are cited in Massie's articles. Nothing has been adjudicated, and whether Democrats will try again is unknown.
O Pulso
- A 211-204 vote quietly parked impeachment articles against Hegseth in committee, where they may never resurface.
- Massie stood nearly alone among Republicans, the one member who wrote the charges and refused to let them die without a fight.
- Hegseth answered the accusations with defiance, calling them a political spectacle and insisting he would execute the operations again tomorrow.
- Eleven Democrats stayed away from the floor, and the outcome that might have gone the other way turned on who showed up.
- The articles lean on the Iran war, War Powers deadlines, and civilian deaths in Yemen and Caribbean boat strikes, and they now wait for Democrats, who have not said whether they will revive the case next year.
In a late-autumn vote that few expected to be decisive, the House chose to bury impeachment charges against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rather than let them reach a floor fight, sending the articles to committee where they can sit indefinitely. The charges, drafted by Representative Thomas Massie, ask whether a cabinet officer may launch a war that Congress never declared and then carry on past the limits of the War Powers Resolution. Those questions are older than this Congress and will outlive it, and the House has, for now, declined to answer them in the open. What remains is a secretary who calls his accusers disgruntled and a public still weighing a war whose costs are measured in civilian lives.
On Tuesday evening the House voted 211 to 204 to send articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to committee, a procedural step that lets Republicans keep the charges there indefinitely. Only one Republican, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who wrote the articles, voted with Democrats against the move.
The vote came hours after Mr. Hegseth held a defiant briefing at the Pentagon, calling the effort a "political spectacle" and Mr. Massie, who lost his primary this year, a "disgruntled and defeated congressman." He said an attack on him was an attack on the troops, and that he was proud of the operations cited and would do it again.
The outcome surprised many. Republicans had worried that low attendance could sink their own effort, but more Democrats than Republicans missed the vote, and the reprieve held. Mr. Trump called it an "exoneration," and Vice President Vance dismissed the question of impeachable crimes as absurd. Some Republicans who were unhappy with Mr. Hegseth concluded impeachment was the wrong remedy, since the president alone can fire him.
The articles focus on acting without Congress: launching the Iran war without authorization, defying votes to withdraw, and ignoring the War Powers deadline. They also cite Houthi airstrikes in Yemen that killed at least 208 civilians and boat strikes that killed 244. Some of Mr. Hegseth's historical claims did not hold up under scrutiny. Democrats could revive the effort when they take power next year, but have not said whether they will.
On Tuesday evening the House voted 211 to 204 to send articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to a committee, a procedural step that lets Republicans hold the charges there indefinitely. Only one Republican, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who wrote the articles, voted with Democrats against the move.
The vote came hours after Mr. Hegseth held a defiant news briefing at the Pentagon. He called the effort a "political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment," and described Mr. Massie, who lost his primary this year to a Trump-backed challenger, as "one disgruntled guy" and a "disgruntled and defeated congressman." He said an attack on him was an attack on the troops who carried out his orders, and that Mr. Massie was putting "a target on the backs of American warriors." Of the operations cited in the articles, he said: "I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow."
The result was an unexpected reprieve. Mr. Hegseth is among President Trump's most combative cabinet members and the public face of the war with Iran. His conduct has at times drawn bipartisan criticism, and his standing was questioned further after sweeping Republican losses in the midterms, in which discontent over the war was a major factor. It was unclear whether Republicans, some of whom were unexpectedly defeated or barely survived, would rally to him. Party leaders had also worried that low attendance could sink their effort. In the end more Democrats than Republicans missed the vote: 11 Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, Julia Brownley, Lou Correa, Laura Gillen, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Brittany Pettersen, Melanie Stansbury, Haley Stevens, Marilyn Strickland and Frederica Wilson, did not vote, against seven Republicans: Monica De La Cruz, Neal Dunn, Russell Fry, Julia Letlow, Tom Tiffany, Derrick Van Orden and Rudy Yakym III.
Mr. Trump called the vote an "exoneration" and said Democrats "must be stopped" from weaponizing government. Vice President JD Vance called the effort political theater and wrote that the question of whether Mr. Hegseth committed impeachable crimes is "absurd and the answer is: obviously not." Some Republicans unhappy with Mr. Hegseth concluded impeachment was the wrong remedy, since cabinet secretaries serve at the president's pleasure and firing him is Mr. Trump's call. Others privately worried the articles, which range from conduct of military operations to Pentagon policy disputes, could implicate the president as commander in chief.
The articles center on acting without Congress. Article I says Mr. Hegseth executed unlawful orders to start the Iran war, launched with Israel on Feb. 28, without a declaration of war, authorization or an attack on the United States, citing the 1973 War Powers Resolution and the March 17 resignation of Joe Kent, then director of the National Counterterrorism Center, who said Iran posed no imminent threat. Article II says he defied votes to withdraw: the House acted June 3 and the Senate June 23 on a concurrent resolution, though the 1983 ruling in I.N.S. v. Chadha casts legal doubt on such a charge. Article III concerns the war law's 60-day deadline, plus 30 days for withdrawal, which the administration ignored. The administration maintains the president has constitutional authority to wage the campaign. Mr. Massie also cited the air campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, which killed at least 208 civilians, and boat strikes in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean that killed 244.
Some of Mr. Hegseth's historical claims did not hold up. He said no defense secretary had ever been impeached for lawful military operations in 250 years, but William Belknap was impeached in 1876, though he resigned beforehand. Reagan's Lebanon deployment had congressional authorization in 1983, and the Obama and Biden strikes in Iraq and Syria relied on the post-9/11 authorization that Mr. Trump repealed in December.
Mr. Massie said the effort was worth it "absolutely," because it showed that Republicans "still haven't broken from the spell of Donald Trump." Democrats could revive impeachment when they take power next year, but have not said whether they will.
Citações Notáveis
They still haven't broken from the spell of Donald Trump. He still controls this conference.— Rep. Thomas Massie
Has Pete Hegseth committed impeachable crimes? The question is absurd and the answer is: obviously not.— Vice President JD Vance
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Leia o original em The New York Times ↗