PNN – The U.S. House of Representatives, currently controlled by a Republican majority, voted by a narrow margin to refer a resolution to impeach Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to a committee, effectively blocking his removal for the time being.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network citing NBC News, the House voted 211 to 204 to refer the impeachment resolution against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to a committee for review—a move that effectively halted the effort.
In this vote, Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) was the only Republican member to vote against his party’s position.
Massie, a long-standing critic of the Donald Trump administration, introduced a 34-page “privileged” resolution on Monday containing eight articles of impeachment against the Secretary of Defense.
Under House of Representatives procedure, privileged resolutions must be addressed within two legislative days—meaning the House must take action on them, table them, or refer them to a committee.
The Republican representative had also previously introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth in September.
He alleged that the U.S. Secretary of Defense has committed human rights violations, initiated a war against Iran without congressional authorization, and engaged in other acts of misconduct.
At the time, the vote on this resolution was halted after House Speaker Mike Johnson brought the House’s proceedings to an early close ahead of the midterm elections.
Furthermore, Hakeem Jeffries—the Democratic Minority Leader in the House, who is expected to be elected Speaker in January—had previously stated that Democrats would remove Hegseth from the position once they take control of Congress next year.