Republicans in the US House of Representatives on Tuesday blocked an effort to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Iran war, handing President Donald Trump a victory days after his party's crushing midterm election defeat. The House voted 211 to 204 to send the impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee, effectively derailing a planned vote Wednesday on whether to bring formal charges against the embattled Pentagon chief. Republicans still hold a narrow House majority until January, when Democrats will take control of both chambers of Congress.
The impeachment effort had threatened to deepen Trump's troubles after Democrats swept last week's midterms, with anger at the sputtering Iran war and soaring fuel prices helping to drive voters to a historic rejection of Republicans. Massie's eight articles of impeachment accused Hegseth of illegally waging war without congressional authorisation and abusing his powers as Pentagon chief. The related allegations involved the Iran war, the Yemen conflict with Iran-backed Houthis, and strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. Hegseth dismissed the impeachment effort as a "farce" and a "stunt."
The vote was seen as a setback for impeachment supporters, who now hope to revive the effort after January when Democrats take control of Congress. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell praised the decision, stating, "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." Despite the defeat, impeachment advocates will likely continue their campaign, given the ongoing controversy over the Iran war and the political climate leading into the new year.