US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth survives impeachment push; Trump says Democrats ‘failed miserably’

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth survived an impeachment push on Tuesday after Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to refer eight articles of impeachment to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, effectively blocking a full vote.

The House approved the procedural motion by 211 votes to 204, giving Hegseth a reprieve amid criticism over his handling of the Iran war and other military operations. The vote came hours after he dismissed the impeachment effort as a farce and defended his record, drawing praise from President Donald Trump.

Thomas Massie, the outgoing Republican representative from Kentucky who sponsored the impeachment resolution, had warned that referring it to the committee would effectively kill the initiative. The resolution is expected to remain there until it is potentially taken up by the new Congress in January.

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Massie was the only Republican to vote with Democrats against referring the resolution. He had sought support from Republicans unhappy with Hegseth's policies and concerned about the unpopularity of the Iran war, but no other Republican joined him.

Democrats had voiced strong support for the impeachment effort, but 11 of them, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, did not vote. Had eight of the absent Democrats voted against the procedural motion, it would have been defeated, paving the way for a full House impeachment vote. Pelosi's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on her absence.

Trump celebrated the result in a social media post, saying the effort to impeach Hegseth had “miserably FAILED”. He wrote: “The Democrats' attempt to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has miserably FAILED! Every single Republican, except Thomas Massie, a major LOSER, voted in favour of Pete.”

Trump described Hegseth as a “Great American Patriot” and credited his leadership with what he called victories in Venezuela and Iran, record military recruitment and improved morale among US forces. He said Hegseth's performance on Iran, Venezuela and other issues had “led to the EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot”.

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Trump also accused Democrats of weaponising and abusing the United States, adding: “They must be stopped! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.” He had earlier given Hegseth an “A PLUS, PLUS, PLUS” for his defence against Massie's impeachment push.

Had the impeachment effort succeeded, Hegseth would have become the first US defence secretary to be impeached. The last time a civilian leader of the US military was impeached was in 1876, when William Belknap held the title of secretary of war.

Hegseth calls himself secretary of war as part of his effort to rebrand a military that he said was too weak and “woke” when he took office last year. Trump cannot change the name of the Defence Department without congressional approval.