US House blocks bid to impeach Defense Secretary Hegseth

The US House turned aside a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, halting an effort to remove the Pentagon chief for his conduct in office and his handling of the war in Iran.

Republicans in the US House of Representatives blocked an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The chamber voted 211 to 204 in favor 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, said would kill 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 eight-month-old Iran war but no other Republicans joined him.

The US-Israeli led conflict has never been approved by Congress, which is the only branch of government constitutionally permitted to declare war.

Democrats had voiced strong support for the impeachment articles, which accuse Hegseth of the "high crimes and misdemeanors" of illegally ordering the military to wage war in Iran and Yemen, attack boats in the Caribbean Sea and capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January.

Hegseth would have been the first US defense secretary to be impeached.

Hegseth earlier condemned the impeachment effort against him as "a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment."

PETE HEGSETH: "I'll get right to it. What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it's not accountability. It's a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment. Time for one man's final days in Congress to try to do damage to this President, this country, and most irresponsibly, the warriors who defend it. It's a farce, and it's a stunt, and everybody knows it."

Before the vote, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said "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."

Jeffries said he would talk to members about whether to mount a new impeachment effort in the next Congress.

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.