Here's Why Every Republican Except Massie Voted To Block Hegseth
Republicans moved to block Rep. Thomas Massie from moving forward with his impeachment effort against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The vote was 211-204 to send the matter to the House Judiciary Committee, effectively killing the immediate attempt to remove Hegseth.Every Republican present, except Massie, voted against sending the articles forward.
There was no straight up or down vote on the actual impeachment articles. Instead, the chamber voted on whether to refer the resolution to the Judiciary Committee. This procedural move halted Massie's plan to force a vote on the floor. Hegseth addressed the situation later that afternoon at the Pentagon.
Secretary Hegseth opened his briefing by dismissing the push as "a farce" and "a stunt". Driven by resentment and ego, Massie was charged by him with orchestrating a personal political spectacle. Hegseth stated that what "one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight and it's not accountability."
He argued the effort is a personal manifesto aimed at damaging the president and the country. Over the 250 years since our American Republic began, Hegseth noted that no Secretary of War has ever been impeached for conducting lawful military operations. He added, "And in our case, successful ones at that. Not once."
Has Pete Hegseth committed impeachable crimes? The question is absurd and the answer is: obviously not.
Like so much of Congress, impeachment has become a ridiculous show that stands in for actual policymaking. Congress has so many tools for registering its policy disagreements. Rather than use them, they're going to try to impeach Pete Hegseth. They did the same to Donald Trump. Legislation is hard. Impeachments are easy (and ultimately, inconsequential).
The irony is that legislators are most angry at Pete on the issues where he's most correct: repositioning forces away from Europe/Ukraine and reorganizing the general officer corps.
This isn't about Iran, this is about the fact that Pete took on the bureaucracy at the Pentagon.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) November 10, 2026
Vice President JD Vance also defended Hegseth against the impeachment claims. Vance stated that "impeachment has become a ridiculous show that stands in for actual policymaking." Breitbart He called the question of whether Hegseth committed impeachable crimes "absurd."
Vance noted that legislators are angry at Hegseth on issues where he is most correct. He said, "This isn't about Iran, this is about the fact that Pete took on the bureaucracy at the Pentagon." Breitbart The Vice President argued that legislation is hard while impeachments are easy and ultimately inconsequential.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries took a different stance but the outcome remained the same. Jeffries stated he was a "hard yes" on the Hegseth resolution. He claimed the secretary has abused his power and engineered a reckless war in Iran.
Despite Jeffries' support for the resolution, the vote to proceed failed. Hegseth insisted that the proper remedy for policy disagreements is legislation or the next election. He said, "That's what it is. Policy disagreements. Not high crimes. Not misdemeanors. Not treason. Not bribery."