House Votes 211-204 to Shelve Hegseth Impeachment, Ending Massie's Push for Now

The Republican-led House voted 211-204 on Tuesday to refer Rep. Thomas Massie's eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to committee, effectively ending the effort in the current Congress. Massie was the only Republican to vote against the motion.

Nov 11, 2026 - 08:14

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The Republican-led House on Tuesday voted 211-204 to send Rep. Thomas Massie's resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to committee, a procedural move that effectively ended the effort in the current Congress, NPR reported. The motion to refer passed at 6:02 p.m. Eastern as Roll Call 317 on H. Res. 1655, according to the Office of the Clerk of the House.

The vote came hours after Hegseth used a rare Pentagon news conference to call the impeachment push "a farce" and "a stunt." It short-circuits any direct floor vote on the eight articles and, NPR reported, virtually guarantees the measure will not be taken up before the current session of Congress expires.

How the House voted

The Clerk's record shows 211 members voting yea, 204 voting nay, none voting present and 18 not voting. According to the House Republican Cloakroom floor summary, Republicans voted 210 to 1 in favor of the motion to refer, while Democrats voted 0 to 203 against it.

Massie, a Kentucky Republican, was the only member of his party to vote with Democrats to keep the resolution alive, NBC News reported. Because he filed the resolution as "privileged," Republican leaders were required to bring it up within two legislative days.

The seven-vote margin was smaller than the number of Democrats who missed the vote. Newsweek reported that 11 Democrats and seven Republicans did not vote. Among the absent Democrats was former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who had traveled to San Francisco to receive the Lifetime Advocate for Veterans Award, according to Newsweek. Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico said a traffic incident and a police escort of a bus kept her and others from reaching the Capitol, the magazine reported.

What the resolution charged

Massie's resolution contained eight articles of impeachment. According to NBC News, the first charged Hegseth with waging the war in Iran without a declaration of war, statutory authorization, an attack on the United States or an imminent threat. Three other Iran-related articles accused him of continuing the war after both chambers directed the removal of U.S. forces, continuing hostilities after the War Powers Resolution's 60-day termination period expired, and ignoring laws meant to minimize civilian casualties.

The remaining articles accused Hegseth of directing what the resolution called "extrajudicial killings" of suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific, including secondary strikes on survivors; of illegally seizing and deposing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro; of using the Defense Department to retaliate against Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; and of carrying out an unlawful war in Yemen, NBC News reported.

"Somebody's got to put their foot down and say, 'Are we going to follow the laws that are on the books? Are we going to follow the Constitution?'" Massie said before the vote, according to NBC News. After the resolution was referred, Massie compared his Republican colleagues to passengers who "know it's a sinking ship but committed to stay on board," The Guardian reported.

The measure was Massie's second attempt. NPR reported that he first sought a floor vote before the midterm elections, prompting Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to call an early recess; the resolution expired as a result, and Massie reintroduced it this week.

Hegseth and Trump respond

At the Pentagon on Tuesday morning, Hegseth argued that every operation cited in the articles was lawful. "None of these are high crimes or misdemeanors," he said, according to NPR. "I stand behind every one of these operations. I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow."

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social after the vote that it was an "EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot," NBC News reported, adding, "The Democrats continue to weaponize and abuse the United States of America. They must be stopped!" Earlier in the day, Trump wrote that Hegseth "gets an 'A' PLUS, PLUS, PLUS" and called Massie "a TOTAL LOSER."

Some Republicans who have criticized Hegseth still opposed impeachment. Outgoing Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska told reporters, "I don't really align with the impeachment itself," NBC News reported. Outgoing Rep. Darrell Issa of California said that even if the House had impeached Hegseth, the Senate would not reach the 67 votes needed to convict. "It's going to die in the Senate; it's just that simple," Issa said.

What comes next

The vote unfolded as Republicans weigh the results of midterm elections in which, The Associated Press reported, the party suffered sweeping losses that some members have blamed on the war in Iran and the resulting surge in gas prices. Democrats are set to take control of the House in January.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who is expected to become speaker, told NPR last week that Hegseth has "got to go." Asked about the Democratic absences on Tuesday, Jeffries said the matter was not over. "This is not the end of it. It's just the beginning," he said in response to a question from Politico reporter Riley Rogerson, according to Common Dreams. NPR reported that Democrats have promised investigations of Hegseth's Pentagon once they hold the majority, though whether they will mount a new impeachment effort remains unclear.