A day after his allies in the House blocked an effort to impeach him, War Secretary Pete Hegseth has little room to breathe easy. Democrats are set to take control of the chamber in January, and several have already vowed to revive the impeachment push, USA Today reported.

Just a week ago, Hegseth’s job looked shaky. Republicans were reeling from heavy midterm losses that many read as a verdict on the economic damage from the unpopular war on Iran, and some in the party blamed him and urged President Donald Trump to remove him.

Then on Nov. 10, House Republicans closed ranks, and the impeachment push failed on a party-line vote. Hegseth and his supporters called it “total victory”.

What the charges were

Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, had introduced eight articles of impeachment. Half concerned the war on Iran. The articles argued that Hegseth overstepped his authority and violated the Constitution by pursuing war without Congress’ approval, ordering deadly strikes on suspected drug smugglers in the Caribbean, and disregarding rules meant to protect civilians in wartime.

Not every Republican who sided with Hegseth did so happily. Some said their objection was to Massie’s particular charges, not a vote of confidence, and they remain unhappy with how Hegseth runs the Pentagon. Criticism of him in Congress crosses party lines.

The 211-204 vote that spared Hegseth was marred by confusion at the Capitol, where Rep. Melanie Stansbury says she and other lawmakers were held up by a traffic incident and a police-escorted bus, arriving just after the vote “gaveled out”, according to The Hill.

A margin that narrow, on a motion that shelves the charges for the rest of this Congress, looks more like a stay of execution than an exoneration. Even Sen. Ted Cruz called impeachment “extremely likely, if not certain” once Democrats take control of the House.

The road ahead

Three problems await Hegseth:

• A fight over Pentagon funding
• Continued public anger over the war on Iran
• A new Democratic majority with investigative ambitions

Democrats say the failed vote only hardened their resolve to impeach him and put him through a Senate trial. North Carolina Rep.-elect Richard Ojeda was blunt, “We’re going to impeach him,” and, “He needs to be impeached and prosecuted.”

Republicans seem to agree on how it will play out. Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez conceded, “We’re not going to have the votes to stop it. Here, the only thing that matters is the majority, and we don’t have it.”

Lawmakers say traffic snarl kept them from Hegseth impeachment vote

In detail, Rep. Melanie Stansbury said she and other House members were stuck outside the Capitol and missed the vote that sidelined the impeachment of War Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to The Hill.

Stansbury’s office said a traffic incident and a police-escorted bus held her up. “Like other Members of Congress, Rep. Stansbury was blocked from entering the Capitol to vote due a traffic incident and a police escort of a bus during the vote,” her office said in a statement on X.

“When she reached the chamber, the vote had just gavelled out.”

By the time she walked in, the House had already voted 211-204 to send the measure to the Judiciary Committee, a move that effectively buries it for the rest of this Congress.

Filing a report of ‘NO’ vote

Stansbury formally recorded her position afterward. “She immediately filed a report of her vote of ‘NO’ to the motion meant to kill the impeachment articles and refer them to the Judiciary Committee, as documented in the Congressional Record,” her statement continued.

“Pete Hegseth must be impeached now.”

Sen. Ted Cruz said Monday that unless Hegseth resigns or President Trump fires him, impeachment is coming once Democrats take over the House. “I think it’s extremely likely, if not certain, that the House will impeach him,” Cruz said on his podcast, “The Verdict,” adding that Democrats would have the votes.