House votes 211 to 204 to refer Hegseth impeachment resolution to committee, effectively killing it

The House voted 211 to 204 on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, to refer the Hegseth impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee, effectively killing it, CBS News reported. Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie, who filed the articles against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, was the lone Republican to vote with all Democrats against referral.

What happened in the Hegseth impeachment vote

Massie, a longtime critic of the Trump administration, delivered a 34-page privileged resolution with eight articles of impeachment on Monday, Stars and Stripes reported. Privileged resolutions require the House to act on them, table them or vote to refer them to committee within two legislative days. A referral shelves the measure instead of sending it to a floor vote.

The result gave Hegseth a surprise reprieve. NPR reported that he had been facing an impeachment vote by the full House as early as Wednesday, and that Tuesday’s vote virtually guarantees the measure will not be taken up before the current session of Congress expires.

Key numbers

• 211 to 204: the vote to refer the resolution to the Judiciary Committee, according to CBS News.
• 1: Massie was the lone Republican to vote with all Democrats against referral, per the same CBS report.
• 8: the articles of impeachment in a 34-page resolution, according to Stars and Stripes.
• 2: the legislative days the House has to act on a privileged resolution, per Stars and Stripes.

What Thomas Massie’s articles allege

CBS said the resolution accused Hegseth of abusing his office by launching the Iran war without congressional approval, ignoring laws designed to minimize civilian casualties, directing extrajudicial killings in the Pentagon’s boat strikes in the Caribbean and directing the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. These are allegations in the resolution, and the House did not vote on them.

Though Republicans have been frustrated with Hegseth’s handling of the war, many did not think his conduct rose to the level of impeachment, CBS reported. Massie said on Monday he would not bring up another resolution. He is retiring in early January after losing his primary earlier this year.

What people said

Hegseth held his first Pentagon news conference in six months on Tuesday morning, Stars and Stripes reported. He called the impeachment effort a “political spectacle” and “a farce.” Later, “I stand behind every one of these operations,” Hegseth said, according to NPR.

Massie called his measure “a much gentler version of what’s coming when Dems control Congress,” Fox News reported. Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York said he would vote to impeach “whether it’s today or tomorrow or next week.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said Democrats will “run Pete Hegseth out of town” after they take over, Stars and Stripes reported.

Background: the Iran war and the midterms

NPR said Massie first sought to bring the resolution to the floor before the midterm elections, which prompted Speaker Mike Johnson to call an early recess to avoid the vote. For the political backdrop, see our report on Congress returning after the midterms with a Hegseth impeachment fight ahead and our US midterm results report.

What happens next

The Hegseth impeachment effort now sits in the Judiciary Committee, and Massie has said he will not file another resolution. Democrats could still force the issue when they retake control of both chambers in January, CBS reported, and NPR said they have promised vigorous investigations into Hegseth’s Pentagon. Removal would require the House to approve articles and the Senate to vote to convict, Fox News reported.