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US Democrats suffered a blow on Tuesday as Republicans in the US House of Representatives blocked Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s impeachment over the war waged on Iran.
The House failed to secure the votes needed to send the impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee, with a vote of 211 to 204, handing President Donald Trump a victory just days after his party’s disastrous midterm election defeat. Democrats and some Republicans had been hoping to hold a vote on Wednesday, which would have seen Hegseth face formal charges.
The resolution was formally proposed by Trump critic, Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie, who was the only member of his party to oppose the procedural manoeuvre, according to US media.
Republicans currently hold a majority in the House, but this will end in January, when Democrats are expected to take control of both chambers of Congress.
Trump’s party’s midterm defeat comes amid widespread discontent among the US public over the country’s war on Iran, as well as soaring gas prices and the rising cost of living.
Trump took to his social media platform, TRUTH Social, to express his strong support for Hegseth, describing him as a “Great American Patriot” who had been exonerated.
Meanwhile, earlier on Tuesday, Hegseth called the attempt to impeach him a “farce” while defending the military operations he has carried out under Trump, as well as the war on Iran.
During a Pentagon press conference, he said, “It’s a farce, and it’s a stunt, and everybody knows it,” branding the accusations as “slander” and “sabotage”.
Following Hegseth’s television appearance, Trump once again showed his support through a TRUTH Social post, writing, “Pete Hegseth gets an ‘A’ PLUS, PLUS, PLUS.”
Vice President JD Vance also commented, saying that Hegseth had “obviously not” committed impeachable offences.
Massie’s eight articles of impeachment
The eight articles of impeachment brought against Hegseth by Massie include several allegations concerning the handling of the Iran war, including waging war without congressional authorisation and abuse of power as Pentagon chief.
They also include allegations surrounding strikes carried out against alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, which Massie described as “extrajudicial killings”, as well as the 2025 conflict with Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.
Massie also accused Hegseth of suppressing free speech after he attempted to punish Democratic Senator Mark Kelly over a video in which Kelly urged military and intelligence personnel to stand up against illegal orders.
Democrats will be able to revive impeachment efforts once they take control of Congress in January. At the same time, Massie will be leaving Congress after losing his Republican primary to a Trump-backed challenger.
Additional sources • AFP