US House blocks bid to impeach Defense Secretary Hegseth
The US House of Representatives has blocked an attempt to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth by voting to refer the resolution to a congressional committee, Qazinform News Agency reports.
On November 10, lawmakers voted to refer H.Res. 1655 to the House Judiciary Committee. The motion passed by 211 votes to 204, with 18 lawmakers not voting.
The impeachment effort was initiated by Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky. According to the official House proceedings, he introduced the resolution at 4:17 p.m. local time. Republican Congressman Darrell Issa later moved to refer the resolution to the Judiciary Committee. Following a debate, the House approved the motion.
The motion was supported by 210 Republicans and one independent lawmaker. All 203 Democrats who participated in the vote opposed it, along with Massie, who was the only Republican to vote against the referral.
The resolution contains eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth. The allegations include alleged violations of US law in connection with military operations against Iran and Yemen, strikes on vessels suspected of drug trafficking in the Caribbean, and US military actions in Venezuela.
As a result, the House did not hold a direct vote on Hegseth's impeachment. Referring the resolution to the committee effectively halted the effort at this stage.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that President Donald Trump had pledged to stand by Hegseth despite the impeachment effort. The defense secretary also dismissed the allegations, saying he was not worried about impeachment.
