Republicans Block Impeachment Push Against Hegseth; Pentagon Claims 'Total Victory'

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted 211-204 to send Thomas Massie's eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee. The motion to refer effectively killed, for now, any chance of a floor vote on removing him. The articles accused Hegseth of repeatedly violating the constitution in his handling of the Iran war and other conflicts around the world.

The Pentagon wasted no time. Spokesman Sean Parnell called the referral "total victory" for Hegseth, the Department of War and the American warfighter. He described the articles as baseless and said the Pentagon looks forward to ending what he called a sham impeachment in the committee room, where, he said, facts will prevail and the distraction can be put to rest.

Hegseth himself held a press conference and rejected the charges. Iran, the cartels, Maduro and Yemen, he said, were all lawful operations, ordered by the commander-in-chief and then by himself, notified to Congress and carried out by American troops. He said the military destroyed the capabilities of terror regimes, sank boats carrying drugs toward American communities, and put a narco dictator in handcuffs. In his words, these were not high crimes but the job, well done.

President Trump celebrated on social media, writing that the Democrats' attempt had "miserably FAILED" and that every Republican except Massie, whom he called a major loser, had voted for Hegseth. He credited victories in Venezuela and Iran and strong military recruitment numbers, and called the outcome an exoneration of a great American patriot. Strictly speaking, the vote was a procedural referral, not a verdict on the charges.

The margin was seven votes, and Democrats were frustrated that several of their own did not cast ballots. CNN's Jake Tapper listed eleven who did not vote: Julia Brownley, Lou Correa, Chris van Hollen, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Nancy Pelosi, Brittany Pettersen, Melanie Stansbury, Haley Stevens, Marilyn Strickland and Frederica Wilson. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told reporters she did not know why people were absent, noting that someone might have a health issue, but that a vote decided on attendance is hard and "hurts." Stansbury's office said she and other members were blocked from reaching the Capitol by a traffic incident and a police escort of a bus. By the time she reached the chamber, the vote had closed, and she filed a report of her "NO" vote, documented in the Congressional Record.

The day brought other shifts on Capitol Hill. House Republicans chose Jim Jordan of Ohio as their leader for the next Congress, 106-73 over Steve Scalise in a closed-door vote. Jordan will lead the GOP from January, when Democrats take control of the House, and he succeeds Speaker Mike Johnson, who did not run and praised Jordan as a longtime friend and a mentor from his early days in Congress. In the Senate, Republicans re-elected John Thune of South Dakota unopposed as minority leader, while Democrats prepare for a majority of at least ten seats.

Elsewhere, nine members of the Kennedy family sued the Trump administration to stop a 250-foot triumphal arch planned near Arlington National Cemetery. Their complaint says it would obstruct the Kennedy gravesites and the JFK Eternal Flame, and cast shadows on the graves in the early morning, when the family traditionally visits. A federal judge on 6 November barred construction from starting for 14 days. Separately, a federal judge allowed Trump's $10bn defamation suit against the BBC to proceed.

For Hegseth, the articles now sit in the House Judiciary Committee, where the Pentagon expects them to end. Democrats take the House in January.