November 11, 2026 - House GOP Blocks Hegseth Impeachment

Happy Veterans Day, and thank you to everyone who has worn the uniform of the United States. I’m looking forward to saluting all veterans tonight at Parx Casino, and one veteran in particular: Rob O’Neill, the former Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden.

And on this Veterans Day, the fate of the Secretary of Defense, or of War, hangs in the balance.

Pete Hegseth came out swinging yesterday. At his first Pentagon briefing since May, he called the effort to impeach him a “farce” and a “political spectacle.” His central argument was this: “None of these are high crimes or misdemeanors. They’re partisan policy disagreements from people who want to politicize our military.” He said of the operations under his watch that he would “do it again tomorrow.”

Hours later, the House sided with him, at least procedurally. By a vote of 211-204, members sent Rep. Thomas Massie’s eight articles of impeachment to the Judiciary Committee, where they are likely to die. Massie was the only Republican to vote with Democrats. But Democrats take control of both chambers on January 3, and Hakeem Jeffries, the likely next Speaker, has vowed to “run Pete Hegseth out of town.”

Massie says the case is about lawbreaking: an unauthorized war in Iran that went on after Congress voted to end it, lethal strikes on suspected drug boats, and retaliation against Sen. Mark Kelly. A federal judge has already said the Pentagon “trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms.”

To my eye, Hegseth hasn’t gone rogue. I suspect everything he has done came with the blessing of the president or the White House. Even The Wall Street Journal editorial board, no fan of Hegseth, says responsibility for Iran rests there.

So why isn’t the move to impeach Donald Trump?

Probably because the House impeached Trump twice, the Senate twice fell short of the two-thirds needed to convict, and both times it inured to his benefit. What’s really going on is that Democrats want to satisfy the voters who demanded change last week, without giving Trump another chance to play the martyr.

But based on the claims, IF Hegseth is worthy of impeachment, surely Trump is too.

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House Republicans blocked an effort led by Rep. Thomas Massie to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his handling of the Iran war and other military actions, with the vote largely falling along party lines.

Associated Press

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