Republicans in the US House of Representatives blocked an effort on Tuesday to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, winning a reprieve for the polarising Pentagon chief before Democrats take control of Congress next year and possibly try again.
uncertain
Democrats → block → Congress
The vote on a procedural motion came just hours after Hegseth blasted efforts to impeach him as a farce and delivered a defiant defence of his record at the helm of the US military, winning praise from US President Donald Trump.
asserted
Hegseth → come → Trump
The chamber voted 211 to 204 in favour of a motion to refer eight articles of impeachment to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, a move that the sponsor of the impeachment push, US Representative Thomas Massie, warned would kill it.
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sponsor → vote → it
Massie, an outgoing Kentucky Republican, had hoped to draw votes from Republicans upset with Hegseth’s policies and wary of the unpopularity of the war on Iran, but no other Republicans joined him.
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Republicans → hop → him
Democrats had voiced strong support for the impeachment effort.
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Democrats → voice → effort
But 11 Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, did not vote.
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Democrats → include → California
If eight of them had, the procedural measure would have been defeated, paving the way for a full House impeachment vote.
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measure → have → vote
Pelosi’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why she missed the vote.
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she → respond → vote
Trump cheered the results in a social media post, saying the effort to impeach Hegseth “has miserably FAILED!”
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effort → cheer → Hegseth
In a sign that the impeachment episode may have drawn Trump and Hegseth closer together, Trump added that Hegseth’s performance on Iran, Venezuela and other issues “led to the EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot.”
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performance → draw → Patriot
Hegseth would have been the first US defence secretary to be impeached.
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Hegseth → impeach → ?
The last time any civilian leader of the US military was impeached was in 1876, when William Belknap held the title “secretary of war”.
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Belknap → impeach → war
Hegseth calls himself secretary of war, part of his effort to rebrand a military he said was too weak and “woke” when he took office last year.
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he → call → office
Trump cannot change the name of the Defence Department without approval from Congress.
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Trump → change → Congress
Voter anger over the war on Iran, which has settled into an effective stalemate focused on securing the Strait of Hormuz, helped Democrats win control of Congress in last week’s midterm elections.
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Democrats → settle → elections
A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Tuesday found a majority of Americans want the newly elected Democratic-majority US Congress, which takes office in January, to act to end the war once and for all.
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which → publish → all
Although Vice President JD Vance has publicly questioned the war and blamed it for the Republicans’ midterm rout, he voiced support for Hegseth on Tuesday.
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he → question → Tuesday
“This isn’t about Iran, this is about the fact that Pete took on the bureaucracy at the Pentagon,” Vance wrote on social media.
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Vance → take → media
Before the vote, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Monday: “Pete Hegseth has abused his power, undermined America’s national security, and he’s the architect of the reckless and costly failed war of choice in Iran.”
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he → say → Iran
Hegseth has repeatedly defended the conflict, calling Trump courageous and saying Iran’s military has been left in ruins.
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military → defend → ruins
He also said his orders to US forces were lawful, despite Massie’s accusations of “high crimes and misdemeanours” ranging from the war itself to the US military raid in January to depose Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
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orders → say → Maduro
“History will judge the Iran war quite differently than the conventional wisdom right now,” Hegseth said on Tuesday at his first Pentagon briefing in six months.
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Hegseth → judge → months
Jeffries said he would talk to members about whether to mount a new impeachment effort in the next Congress.
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he → say → Congress
“We’ll have that conversation at the appropriate time,” he said.
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he → have → time
A Democratic-led push to impeach Hegseth could be far more intense, with lawmakers calling in top brass to testify, including generals and admirals fired by Hegseth who have remained silent so far.
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who → lead → Hegseth
Hegseth, who has railed against diversity efforts at the Pentagon, fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is Black, and the Navy’s top admiral, a woman, among others.
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who → rail → others
In such an effort, Democrats could also raise other issues concerning to voters including Pentagon policy toward Ukraine and the US military’s strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats in Caribbean and Pacific waters.
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Democrats → raise → waters
Some Republicans say Hegseth’s strained relations with Congress are becoming a political liability as the Trump administration seeks a huge increase in the military’s budget to $1.5 trillion from $950 billion.
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administration → say → billion
Massie said he was disappointed by the vote, comparing Republicans to passengers content to go down with the Titanic.
“They know it’s a sinking ship but committed to stay on board,” he said.
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he → say → board
The Aporia
