“Failed miserably!”
Pete Hegseth can breathe a sigh of relief for now
Updated 11/11/2026 – 8:28 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
The attempt to overthrow Defense Minister Hegseth fails early in the House of Representatives. Trump celebrates the Republican victory.
The Republican majority in the US House of Representatives has attempted to impeach the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth initially stopped. With 211 votes to 204, Republican Thomas Massie’s initiative against his party colleague fell short of the necessary majority in the first vote. The matter was thus formally referred to a committee before the parliamentary chamber could vote on the allegations against Hegseth.
US President Donald Trump was delighted after the vote. The attempt “failed miserably!” he wrote on his platform Truth Social.
His Republicans still have the majority in the House of Representatives. The new representatives elected last week in the midterms will not enter parliament until January. Then the Democrats will have a majority in both chambers – and could target Hegseth’s office again.
Democrat: “There will be many, many investigations.”
Current Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared combative to reporters. “This isn’t the end of it, it’s just the beginning,” US broadcasters quoted him as saying CNN and CBS News. The left-wing congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez also said: “There will be many, many investigations. I am assuming there will be many subpoenas.”
On Tuesday (local time), eleven Democratic MPs did not vote – so there was at least the possibility that the vote on the impeachment proceedings could have turned out differently.
But even if it were successful in the House of Representatives, impeachment would require the approval of the Senate, the second chamber of Parliament. A two-thirds majority would be needed there – which is currently considered unlikely and even after the new majority in January.
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Accusations also about the Iran war
Republican Massie, who is retiring from Congress, had previously raised allegations against Hegseth in the House of Representatives over his actions in the Iran war. Armed forces were deployed in hostilities against the Islamic Republic despite no authorization from Congress, it said.
He also ignored laws designed to minimize civilian casualties. He also makes allegations against Hegseth in connection with US military operations against the boats of suspected drug smugglers. Critics view the action as unlawful extrajudicial killings.
The Pentagon chief himself rejected the allegations. At a press conference before the vote, he had a view on the Iran said he would not apologize for the U.S. military destroying the military capabilities of a country that chants “Death to the United States.” “The whole thing is a farce and it’s a set-up – and everyone knows it,” he said. He received support from US President Trump.
