In brief

• Republicans in the House voted 211 to 204 to send an impeachment resolution against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to committee, blocking a floor vote.
• The resolution, introduced by Republican Thomas Massie, accuses Hegseth of acting in the Iran war without congressional authorisation.
• Democrats could revive the effort after taking control of Congress in January.

A narrow procedural win

On Tuesday, local time, the House voted 211 to 204 to refer an impeachment resolution against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth back to the Judiciary Committee (US-Repräsentantenhaus lehnt Amtsenthebungsverfahren gegen Hegseth ab – tagesschau.de) (US-Verteidigungsminister: Amtsenthebung Hegseths im US-Repräsentantenhaus gestoppt – ZEIT ONLINE) (Pete Hegseth: Republikaner lehnen Amtsenthebungsantrag im Repräsentantenhaus ab – DER SPIEGEL). Republicans voted almost unanimously for the referral. The committee is chaired by Republicans, so the measure is effectively stalled. A floor vote that had been scheduled for Wednesday is now off the table. Only Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, joined Democrats in opposing the referral (Republikáni zablokovali snahu o odvolání Hegsetha – Novinky.cz).

Origins of the challenge

Republican Representative Thomas Massie introduced the resolution on Monday, and Democrats backed it (Republikánský kongresman chce Hegsethův impeachment. Trump se svého ‚ministra války’ zastal – iROZHLAS) (Republikán Massie predložil návrh na impeachment šéfa Pentagonu Hegsetha – HNonline.sk). Massie accuses Hegseth of deploying US forces in the war with Iran without congressional authorisation, which he calls the central charge. The eight-point indictment also cites the 1973 War Powers Resolution, civilian casualties, and military operations in Venezuela and Yemen (Hegseth odmieta hrozbu impeachmentu, demokrati chcú preveriť jeho pôsobenie vo funkcii – HNonline.sk). The Pentagon rejects the allegations.

Pressure after the midterms

The push gained momentum after Republicans suffered heavy losses in last week's midterm elections. Many in the party blamed the Iran war and the subsequent rise in petrol prices for the defeat (USA - Amtsenthebungsverfahren gegen Verteidigungsminister Hegseth scheitert im Repräsentantenhaus – Deutschlandfunk).

Hegseth and Trump respond

Hegseth called the effort a show trial and said it reflected personal ego and grievance rather than oversight (Politické divadlo, ktoré zlyhá, povedal šéf Pentagónu k snahám o impeachment – HNonline.sk) (Hegseth označil snahu o podání ústavní žaloby na jeho osobu za divadlo – Seznam Zprávy). He added that Massie's criticism did not amount to grounds for impeachment, describing them as political disagreements rather than serious crimes. He said the effort amounted to sabotage rather than patriotism and predicted the charges would fail (USA - Verteidigungsminister Hegseth nennt drohendes Amtsenthebungsverfahren eine Farce – Deutschlandfunk). President Donald Trump defended his defence secretary, claiming Hegseth had won two wars, and attacked Massie as a loser.

What comes next

The vote buys Hegseth time but does not end the matter. Once Democrats take over Congress in January, they could make a fresh attempt.

Read also

• House Sends Hegseth Impeachment Resolution to Committee, Delaying Floor Vote
• Democrats Back Hegseth Impeachment as Massie Files Articles and House Vote Nears