House Republicans block bid to impeach Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump calls it ‘exoneration of a great American patriot’

House Republicans on Tuesday blocked a bid to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who accused the GOP-dominated chamber of "exonerating" him as a "Great American Patriot." The Republican-controlled House voted 211 to 204 to refer eight articles of impeachment to the House Judiciary Committee. Hegseth faced accusations of illegally waging war without congressional authorization, violating the War Powers Resolution, and suppressing free speech by punishing Democrats.

Thomas Massie, the outgoing Kentucky Republican Representative, had warned the motion would kill the impeachment bid. Despite some Republicans' support for impeachment, none joined Massie in blocking it. Democrats will now have to wait until January to take control of Congress. US President Donald Trump celebrated the outcome, claiming Hegseth had been "miserably FAILED" and exonerated.

Vice President JD Vance also backed the defense secretary, stating he had "obviously not committed impeachable offenses." Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell called the vote a "TOTAL VICTORY" and predicted the sham impeachment would be "put to rest." Hegseth dismissed the impeachment effort as a "farce" and defended his record leading military operations.