The House of Representatives voted 211–204 on Tuesday, November 10, to send Representative Thomas Massie's eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the Republican-led Judiciary Committee instead of voting on the charges. Every Democrat and Massie, the only Republican, voted against the referral.
The vote puts the dispute on a clock. The 119th Congress ends on January 3, and an impeachment resolution not adopted by then does not carry over into the 120th. Massie, who lost his Republican primary in May, leaves office that day. Democrats, who won control of the House this month, take over the chamber, and their leader has already said where he stands. "I'm a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told ABC's This Week on November 8. "Pete Hegseth has got to go."
Hegseth spent Tuesday morning defending his record. "What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it's not accountability," he said, ABC News reported. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that Hegseth "gets an 'A' PLUS, PLUS, PLUS for his defense against a disgruntled, angry, defeated, former Congressman." Trump described Massie as a former congressman, although the Kentucky Republican remains in office until January.
Massie filed the 34-page resolution on Monday as a question of the privileges of the House, a procedure that requires the speaker to schedule consideration within two legislative days. An earlier attempt in September stalled when Speaker Mike Johnson adjourned the House early. The procedure guarantees floor action, not a vote on impeachment itself. Under House rules, the chamber could refer the resolution to committee, table it or vote on it directly.
The White House urged referral. Its Statement of Administration Policy, issued on November 10, argued that "personal, political, and policy disagreements do not rise to a high crime, misdemeanor, or an impeachable offense," and cited the president's "inherent constitutional authority" to direct military operations. It also warned that the resolution would "cede the House and Senate floor to the Democrats" while Republicans hold a government trifecta. Johnson, quoted by The Daily Wire, said: "The idea that you would impeach the Secretary of War at a time of international conflict sends a terrible message."
Massie called the floor vote a "procedural motion to kill the resolution," Breaking Defense reported. He had said on X that he would request a separate vote on each article if referral failed: "I've heard from several members they agree with some of the Articles of Impeachment but not all of them." Referral meant that test never happened. "I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do. Everybody gets to take this vote," he said, according to Stars and Stripes.
CBS News said the referral "effectively kills" the effort; Reuters described it as "effectively stopping the effort." Massie said on Monday that he would not bring up another impeachment resolution. Procedurally, any member could still file a new privileged resolution before January 3, though leadership could again move to refer or table it.
The articles accuse Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanors across several military operations. The first three concern the Iran war: initiating unauthorized hostilities, continuing them despite a congressional withdrawal resolution, and disregarding the War Powers Resolution's termination provisions.
The remaining articles allege disregard for civilian protection laws; extrajudicial killings during strikes against suspected drug-trafficking boats, citing at least 243 deaths; retaliation against Senator Mark Kelly for protected speech; an unauthorized operation to seize Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores in Venezuela; and an unlawful military campaign in Yemen.
Hegseth rejects every charge. "None of these are high crimes or misdemeanors... They're partisan policy disagreements from people who want to politicize our military," he said at his first Pentagon press conference in six months, CBS News reported. "I stand behind every one of these operations. I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow," he said, according to Stars and Stripes. On the war at the center of the first three articles, Reuters quoted him: "History will judge the Iran war quite differently than the conventional wisdom right now."
A Democratic-led Judiciary Committee could investigate, seek documents and testimony, and draft articles of its own. Democrats have also promised to investigate Hegseth's firing of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Reuters reported. A unified Democratic majority could impeach Hegseth without Republican votes; a simple majority is enough.
Massie's seat passes to Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL whom Trump and Hegseth backed in the May primary. Massie expects the next House to go further. "When the Democrats get control in January, they are not going to be as polite as I am," he told the Denver Gazette. In a statement, he called his own resolution "a much gentler version of what's coming."
Republicans set their own course the same day. House Republicans elected Jim Jordan, who chairs the Judiciary Committee now holding the resolution, to lead them in the next Congress, choosing him over Steve Scalise 106–73 in a secret ballot, the Associated Press reported. "I am battle-tested on the oversight front and I know the Democrats' playbook," Jordan said.
Conviction requires two-thirds of senators present, 67 if all 100 attend. In the outgoing Senate, Democrats and the two independents who caucus with them hold 47 seats, 20 short of 67. Al Jazeera and CBS News reported that the incoming Democratic caucus will hold at least 54 seats. That could rise to 56 if Mary Peltola in Alaska and Scott Colom in Mississippi hold their leads in races still uncalled on November 10. On those figures, a united Democratic caucus would need another 11 to 13 votes, assuming full attendance. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has said Hegseth "must stand trial before the Senate," according to Al Jazeera.
No Cabinet secretary has been convicted by the Senate. William Belknap was acquitted in 1876. The House impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas 214–213 in February 2024, but on April 17 the Senate sustained two constitutional points of order, 51–48–1 and 51–49, and ended the case the day the trial began, without witnesses. A Senate trial of Hegseth would therefore not automatically produce testimony; a simple majority can end one.
For Hegseth, the referral removed the immediate threat of impeachment, and he keeps the president's public backing. It does not establish that his conduct was lawful. His standing is weaker outside his own party. A Quinnipiac University poll released September 10 found that 57 percent of registered voters disapproved of his performance and 32 percent approved. Among Republicans, 76 percent approved and 14 percent disapproved.
Reuters reported on November 10 that some Republicans see Hegseth's strained relationship with Congress as a liability for the administration's plan to raise its defense budget request from $950 billion to $1.5 trillion. Stopgap government funding expires on December 11, and Democrats are likely to accept only about $1 trillion, Bloomberg reported.
The House cannot acquit an official. That is the Senate's role. In 2024 and again on Tuesday, the fate of a Cabinet secretary's impeachment was settled by a procedural vote rather than a vote on the charges. On January 3, control of that procedure passes to the Democrats.