The US House of Representatives on Tuesday rejected an effort to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth over his conduct in office and his handling of the war in Iran.
The House voted 211-204 in favour of a motion to refer eight articles of impeachment against the Pentagon chief to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, effectively halting the impeachment effort.
The move was spearheaded by Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie. Although Democrats had expressed strong support for the initiative, 11 of them, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, did not vote.
US President Donald Trump welcomed the outcome, describing it as the “exoneration of a great American patriot”.
“The Democrats’ attempt to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has miserably FAILED! Every single Republican, except Thomas Massie, a major LOSER, voted in favour of Pete,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Again, Victories in Venezuela and Iran, the Best Recruitment Numbers in the History of the Military (Long waiting lists to get in!), and Spirit like rarely seen before, led to the EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot,” he added.
The vote came days after Republicans suffered a major setback in the midterm elections, with some party members attributing the outcome to public discontent over the war in Iran and rising oil prices.
But after President Donald Trump signalled strong support for Hegseth, GOP lawmakers largely stood by the secretary on Tuesday.
While the vote has provided Hegseth with temporary political relief, the prospect of further impeachment efforts remains, particularly as Democrats are expected to take control of Congress next year.
Earlier, Hegseth had dismissed the impeachment push, arguing that it was driven by a lawmaker’s disagreement with his policies rather than allegations of the kind of high crimes and misdemeanours envisaged by the country's founders.
Defending his record, Hegseth maintained that he had overseen lawful and successful military operations. He also argued that, in the 250-year history of the American republic, no secretary of war or defence had ever been impeached for carrying out lawful military operations.
