An effort to impeach U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has stalled in the House of Representatives, at least for now. On Tuesday, November 10, lawmakers voted 211-204 to refer eight articles of impeachment to the House Judiciary Committee, a move that effectively ends the push in the current Congress.

The articles were introduced by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a frequent critic of the administration. He was the only Republican to vote against sending them to committee. Here is a plain-English look at what happened, why it matters and what to watch next.

What the impeachment articles said

Massie formally introduced eight articles of impeachment on Monday, November 9. According to BBC News, the central charge was that Hegseth had been “breaking the law” by fighting a war in Iran for more than 90 days without approval from Congress. The articles also accused him of overseeing “extrajudicial killings” in the U.S. campaign against boats alleged to be carrying drugs in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

Impeachment in the House is only the first step. If the House had impeached Hegseth, the Senate would then have held a trial to decide whether to remove him from office.

How the vote worked

The House did not vote directly on whether to impeach Hegseth. Instead, members voted on whether to refer the resolution to the Judiciary Committee, which is led by Republicans. The alternative would have been to let the measure move forward on the House floor.

All Republicans except Massie voted to refer it, and the motion passed 211-204. Because only a short time remains in this Congress, sending the measure to committee is widely seen as killing it. Axios also reported the outcome as a rejection of the effort by the GOP-led House.

More than a dozen members missed the vote, including 11 Democrats, several of whom blamed traffic for their absence, according to the BBC. Some Democrats criticized colleagues for not showing up.

How Hegseth and the White House responded

At a news conference before the vote, Hegseth called the effort a “farce” and a political stunt. He argued that it sent a message to U.S. adversaries that the country would “punish its own warriors and its own civilian leadership for successfully executing lawful military operations.” “This is not patriotism. This is sabotage,” he said, as quoted by the BBC.

He also argued that Massie’s case was based on policy differences rather than “high crimes” or “misdemeanours,” the standard set out in the Constitution.

After the vote, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the effort had “miserably FAILED.”

Why Democrats say this isn’t over

The bigger story may be the calendar. Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate in the recent midterm elections and take power in January. After Tuesday’s vote, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said: “This is not the end of it. It’s just the beginning.”

Massie had acknowledged his bid might not succeed right away. He argued it could push the president to replace Hegseth before Democrats are able to start their own impeachment process, while Republicans still control the Senate and could confirm a successor. After the vote, he said he “wasn’t surprised” but “was disappointed.”

Some Republicans have also openly questioned how long Hegseth will stay. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said on Tuesday that he expected Hegseth to resign or be fired, according to the BBC.

What to watch next

There are three things to keep an eye on in the coming weeks:

  • Whether the White House keeps Hegseth in place through the transition to a Democratic Congress.
  • Whether House Democrats move quickly on their own impeachment effort once they take control in January.
  • How the debate over the Iran war and congressional war powers plays out as the new Congress is seated.

The bottom line

For now, Hegseth has survived. The House vote ended Massie’s effort without a direct up-or-down vote on impeachment. But with Democrats about to take control of Capitol Hill and some Republicans questioning his future, the fight over the Pentagon’s leadership appears far from settled.

Image: 2023 United States Capitol 118th Congress, sunrise by U.S. House of Representatives via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain Mark 1.0