Republicans block effort to impeach Defense Secretary Hegseth

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives blocked an effort on Tuesday to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The chamber voted 211 to 204 in favor of a motion to refer eight articles of impeachment to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee.

U.S. Representative Thomas Massie, who sponsored the impeachment push, warned that referring the articles to committee would kill the effort.

The vote came hours after Hegseth defended his record at the Pentagon and criticized the impeachment effort. President Donald Trump praised Hegseth’s response.

Trump wrote on social media that the effort to impeach Hegseth "has miserably FAILED!"

Democrats are set to take control of Congress next year and may attempt to impeach Hegseth again at that time.