US house rejects impeachment bid against defense secretary

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The United States House of Representatives has rejected an attempt to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth over allegations that he authorised military operations against Iran without congressional approval.

As reported by the BBC on Wednesday, a majority of lawmakers on Tuesday voted to refer the impeachment resolution, introduced by Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky, to the House Judiciary Committee, effectively blocking the move.

The vote was 211 to 204, with all Republicans except Massie supporting the referral of the resolution to the Republican-led committee.

The impeachment effort accused Hegseth of waging war against Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorisation, alongside other alleged misconduct, including overseeing extrajudicial killings during US military operations against suspected drug-carrying vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.

Massie had introduced eight articles of impeachment, arguing that Hegseth had violated the law and should be held accountable.

However, the attempt was widely considered unlikely to succeed, given the Republicans’ control of the House and their continued support for President Donald Trump.

Reacting to the outcome, Trump celebrated the defeat of the impeachment effort in a post on his Truth Social platform, describing it as a failed attempt against the defence secretary.

He also praised Hegseth, referring to him as a patriot and highlighting what he described as achievements of the administration’s military policies.

Hegseth had earlier dismissed the impeachment effort as a political stunt, describing it as a “farce” and “sabotage”.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, he accused his critics of using the process to undermine the administration.

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Massie, however, expressed disappointment over the outcome, although he said he was not surprised by the vote.

According to CBS, he criticised lawmakers who opposed the resolution, arguing that Congress had failed to exercise its responsibility.

The congressman had previously acknowledged that his impeachment effort might not succeed immediately but said it could pressure Trump to replace Hegseth before Democrats assumed control of Congress.

Meanwhile, the House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, indicated that the opposition party would continue pursuing accountability over the allegations.

“This is not the end of it. It’s just the beginning,” Jeffries said after the vote.

The impeachment resolution could be revisited when Democrats take control of both chambers of Congress in January, following their victories in the November 2026 midterm elections.

However, the referral of the measure to the Judiciary Committee effectively ends the current effort, given the limited time remaining in the present congressional session.

House Speaker Mike Johnson had earlier predicted that the impeachment attempt would fail, reflecting the Republican leadership’s opposition to the move.

The development comes amid growing political disagreements over the Trump administration’s military operations against Iran and the extent of congressional authority over the use of military force.