The Republican-led House has voted 211-204 to send Thomas Massie's eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee. The referral effectively halts the impeachment bid. The vote took place on Tuesday night.
Eleven Democrats were absent, Al Jazeera reports. That is more than the margin of seven votes. Those missing included Rep. Jonathan Jackson, who blamed a traffic delay. The Christian Science Monitor says the effort failed "largely along party lines".
The result bears out House Speaker Mike Johnson's promise that Republicans would defeat the resolution. Before the vote, GOP sources had told CNN the outcome depended on attendance. Referral to a committee is also what the White House urged in its formal statement opposing the impeachment.
Donald Trump called Hegseth a "great American patriot" in a social media post and said Democrats "must be stopped", according to the Christian Science Monitor.
Progressives have turned on the House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, and the 11 absentees, Mediaite reports. The commentator Krystal Ball said:
"This is a major Hakeem Jeffries fail"