US House Blocks Impeachment Bid Against Defence Secretary Hegseth Over Iran War

Republicans in the US House of Representatives have blocked an attempt to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth over his handling of the Iran war, handing President Donald Trump a political victory days after his party suffered a crushing defeat in the midterm elections.

The House voted 211 to 204 on Tuesday to refer the impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee, effectively derailing a planned vote on Wednesday on whether to bring formal charges against the embattled Pentagon chief.

The resolution was introduced by Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, a vocal Trump critic who was the only member of his party to oppose the procedural move, according to US media reports.

The impeachment effort threatened to compound Trump’s political difficulties following the Democrats’ sweeping victory in last week’s midterm elections, as public anger over the prolonged Iran war and rising fuel prices contributed to the Republicans’ historic electoral setback.

Republicans will retain a narrow majority in the House until January, when Democrats are expected to take control of both chambers of Congress. Eleven Democratic lawmakers were absent during Tuesday’s vote.

Trump celebrated the outcome, describing it as an “EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot” in a post on his Truth Social platform.

Similarly, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell described the vote as a “TOTAL VICTORY!” in a post on X.

“We look forward to ending this sham impeachment in the committee room, where facts will continue to prevail and this distraction can be put to rest,” Parnell added.

Hegseth had earlier dismissed the impeachment effort as a “farce” and defended his leadership of the Iran war and other military operations carried out under the Trump administration.

“It’s a farce, and it’s a stunt, and everybody knows it,” he said at a Pentagon press conference, describing the allegations against him as “slander” and “sabotage.”

Shortly after Hegseth’s televised appearance, Trump publicly reaffirmed his support for the defence secretary.

“Pete Hegseth gets an ‘A’ PLUS, PLUS, PLUS,” the 80-year-old president wrote on Truth Social.

Vice President JD Vance also defended Hegseth, saying the defence secretary had “obviously not” committed any impeachable offences.

Massie’s eight articles of impeachment accused Hegseth of unlawfully conducting military operations without congressional authorisation and abusing his powers as head of the Pentagon.

Several of the allegations centred on the eight-month Iran war, with Massie accusing Hegseth of violating the War Powers Resolution, which limits US military interventions without congressional approval.

Other allegations concerned the 2025 conflict involving Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels and US strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Massie described the latter operations as “extrajudicial killings.”

He also accused Hegseth of undermining freedom of speech by attempting to punish Democratic Senator Mark Kelly over a video in which he urged military and intelligence personnel to refuse illegal orders.

However, Hegseth defended the military operations in Yemen, Iran and Venezuela, as well as actions against suspected drug smugglers, while portraying the impeachment effort as an attack on US troops.

“I stand behind every one of these operations. I was proud to execute them, and I would do it again tomorrow,” he said.

Although the decision to refer the resolution to committee has halted the immediate impeachment effort, it does not prevent Democrats from reviving the process after assuming control of Congress in January.

Massie, who lost his Republican primary election to a Trump-backed challenger, is expected to leave Congress at the end of his current term.