US House sends Hegseth impeachment bid to committee, stalling vote

Republicans in the US House of Representatives on Tuesday blocked an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the war with Iran, according to Arab News. The House voted 211 to 204 to send the impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee, effectively derailing a vote planned for Wednesday on whether to bring formal charges.

Arab News described the outcome as a victory for President Donald Trump, coming days after his party's heavy defeat in the midterm elections. Al Jazeera reported that the bid failed despite bipartisan opposition to the war, and that it accused Hegseth of leading the war on Iran without required congressional approval.

The resolution was introduced a day earlier by Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who is leaving Congress. He put forward eight articles of impeachment accusing Hegseth of mishandling the Iran war and of other alleged abuses of power.

Hegseth responded on Tuesday at a news conference, his first since May. According to France 24, he called the effort a farce and a political stunt, said it would fail, and described it as a political spectacle. Another France 24 report said he called it sabotage that plays into the hands of adversaries.

The Independent explained that impeachment is a formal accusation, not a conviction. Under Article II, Section 4 of the US Constitution, Congress can impeach and remove federal officials, including Cabinet secretaries. A simple House majority is needed to approve articles of impeachment, after which the Senate holds a trial.

Conviction in the Senate requires a two-thirds vote, and an impeached official can keep serving while the Senate considers the charges. Only two Cabinet secretaries have been impeached: William W. Belknap in 1876, who resigned before the House vote and was later acquitted, and Alejandro Mayorkas in February 2024, whose case the Senate dismissed about two months later.