The US House voted 211-204 Tuesday evening to refer eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee, blocking a direct floor vote and effectively ending the effort for the current Congress. Outgoing Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, who introduced the privileged resolution on Monday, was the lone Republican to vote with Democrats against the procedural motion, while 11 Democrats and seven Republicans missed the vote.
The vote held off a push that Republican leaders had feared could pass during the lame duck session if GOP members defected or skipped votes following last week’s midterm losses. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell called the referral a “total victory” and said the department looked forward to “ending this sham impeachment in the committee room,” though Democrats can revive the effort when they take control of both chambers of Congress in January.