{"id":230413,"date":"2026-11-12T01:24:16","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T01:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/live-updates-pete-hegseth-defends-record-after-republican-begins-impeachment-effort-bbc\/"},"modified":"2026-11-12T01:24:16","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T01:24:16","slug":"live-updates-pete-hegseth-defends-record-after-republican-begins-impeachment-effort-bbc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/live-updates-pete-hegseth-defends-record-after-republican-begins-impeachment-effort-bbc\/","title":{"rendered":"Live updates: Pete Hegseth defends record after Republican begins impeachment effort – BBC"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US House of Representatives votes to send a Republican congressman's effort to impeach<\/a> Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to committee – which could effectively end the attempt for now
The measure accused Hegseth of waging war on Iran without congressional authorisation<\/a>
Speaking at the Pentagon for the first time in six months, the defence secretary called the impeachment effort a "farce"<\/a> and added: "<\/a>This is sabotage"<\/a>
Democratic lawmakers such as minority leader Hakeem Jeffries say they back impeaching Hegseth<\/a>, but President Donald Trump says his defence secretary gets an "'A' PLUS"<\/a>
Vice-President JD Vance has blamed the war for Republicans' sweeping midterms losses, but says it is "absurd" to suggest Hegseth has committed impeachable crimes<\/a>
This video can not be played
Edited by Caitlin Wilson and Brajesh Upadhyay, with Ana Faguy reporting from Capitol Hill
\"\"<\/span><\/span>Ione Wells<\/strong>
North America correspondent<\/span>
The House vote to send the articles of impeachment against Hegseth to committee doesn't rule out the prospect of an eventual impeachment vote entirely – but it kicks it into the long grass for now.
The articles of impeachment will now go to the judiciary committee for further consideration, and it\u2019s not clear how long that process could take.
When Democrats take control of Congress in January, they could try to revive attempts to impeach Hegesth or other officials.
However, they would still face a high bar to remove him from office – which would also require a two thirds majority in the Senate.
Hegseth has maintained the support of President Donald Trump, who said the defence secretary gets an "A Plus", and Vice-President JD Vance, who blamed the Iran war for Republicans' midterms losses, has said it was \u201cabsurd\u201d to suggest Hegseth had committed impeachable crimes.
We are ending our live coverage now. You can read more in our news story here.<\/a>
More reactions from Democratic lawmakers have started trickling in on social media.
Chair of the House Democrats, Pete Aguilar<\/b> says "House Republicans are shielding Pete Hegseth from accountability", in a post on X, adding that "Hegseth has got to go".
Texas Congressman Christian D. Menneffee, <\/b>a Democrat, asked "…have Republicans learned anything from last week?", referring to the results in last week's midterm elections.
He says that rather than having Hegseth answer questions on "his role in the war in Iran" Republicans have opted to "sweep it under the rug".
Illinois Congressman Mike Quigley<\/b> writes that while tonight's vote "failed, impeachment will happen".
Congresswoman Linda Sanchez from California<\/b> says that "Democrats will keep fighting" and Arizona Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva<\/b> warns Hegseth not to "get too comfortable".
"You will be held accountable for your illegal war when Democrats take the majority," she says. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/span>Ana Faguy<\/strong>
Reporting from Capitol Hill<\/span>
All Democrats who voted today backed the effort to vote on impeachment articles against Hegseth, but 11 of them were missing from the vote, which could have made a difference in the final tally.
Democrats will be in a majority in the next Congress, which leaves the question open if they will try to impeach Hegseth again.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was asked about that by reporters after the vote:
\u201cThere are so many criminals in this administration\u2026 it\u2019s hard to figure out the order of operations," she said. "There are going to be many, many, many investigations; I imagine many subpoenas.\u201d
We haven't heard directly from Hegseth on today's vote, but in his first public reaction he has shared a screenshot of Trump's post on social media.
Trump's post calls Hegseth a "Great American Patriot", and says that Democrats "must be stopped".
US President Donald Trump just reacted to today's vote in a post on social media.
"The Democrats\u2019 attempt to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has miserably FAILED! Every single Republican, except Thomas Massie, a major LOSER, voted in favor of Pete," he says.
The president has said the vote, which effectively derails the impeachment motion until at least January, is an "EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot".
By voting to refer the measure to committee, the House has effectively killed Congressman Massie's efforts to impeach Hegseth, for now.
The House voted 211 – 204 to refer the resolution to the House Judiciary committee, where it is expected to languish until potentially getting picked up by the new Congress in January.
Massie was the only Republican to vote alongside the Democrats against referring the motion to a committee. What also helped the resolution to block a full vote was the absence of 11 House Democrats who were not in Washington.
\"\"<\/span><\/span>Ana Faguy<\/strong>
Reporting from Capitol Hill<\/span>
The vote was open for longer than the allocated 15 minutes, which often happens on the floor of the House.
A vote is not done until the gavel comes down – so we were eagerly waiting for that.
On the floor – watching from the press gallery – I could see a handful of members with their young children.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson was also here, shaking hands and speaking to members.
Massie appeared to be watching the vote tallies as they were updated on the walls.
After the gavel came down, we learned the vote was 211-204.
This video can not be played
Republicans vote to block Hegseth impeachment from reaching full vote
Republicans in the House of Representatives have voted to block the articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth from going to the floor for a full vote.
The impeachment effort was formally introduced by outgoing Republican Congressman Thomas Massie on Monday, but will now be sent to committee and likely not reach the floor under the current Congress.
Voting is now under way – the result is expected in around 15 minutes.
As a reminder, the House is now holding a procedural vote on whether to move forward with Massie's motion to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, or to send it to committee, which could effectively block it.
\"\"<\/span><\/span>Ana Faguy<\/strong>
Reporting from Capitol Hill<\/span>
The House has 435 members, 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats, one Independent, and two vacancies, but last night fewer than 400 lawmakers were present for votes.
That means efforts tonight could face an attendance issue.
We'll be watching to see how many representatives are missing, as the margins in the House are narrow for Republicans and every vote will count.
\"\"<\/span><\/span>Ana Faguy<\/strong>
Reporting from Capitol Hill<\/span>
It's been a little unclear about how this evening's votes were going to go. We now have a hint of clarity.
The vote scheduled for 17:30 EST (22:30 GMT) appears to have been scheduled as a vote to refer these articles of impeachment to committee.
That means that if the vote passes with a majority of members of the House agreeing, the articles could go to committee and likely not return for the remainder of this Congress. The new Congress could take the measure up again after being sworn in in January.
If the vote fails, and there is not a majority of members supporting, it could mean the House will have to take up the measure as a chamber, meaning a debate and vote on whether to impeach Hegseth – which could come tomorrow.
The full impeachment articles are being read out by the clerks in the House.
They are lengthy, and the process has been under way for some time – we've even seen a change in the clerk reading them out.
Once they're done, House members will vote whether they should move forward with outgoing Republican Thomas Massie's measure to impeach Hegseth.
As a reminder, the Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the House, and so Republican votes will be needed for the impeachment measure to progress.
Rebecka Pieder<\/strong>
Reporting from Washington DC<\/span>
Shortly, the House will vote on whether to move forward on the impeachment measure of Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, introduced by outgoing Republican congressman Thomas Massie.
Here's what's been happening in the lead up:<\/p>\n

Our first indication of where this may be heading will come with a procedural vote scheduled for 17:30 EST (22:30 GMT).<\/p>\n

John Thune has been re-elected as Senate Republican leader following heavy defeats for his party in the midterms – losing control of the chamber to the Democrats.
Writing on X following his re-election, the South Dakota Senator says he is "proud of what this Republican team has accomplished together" and that they remain "united" in their commitment to "working with President Trump".
"I look forward to serving alongside my colleagues on behalf of the American people," he adds.
Speculation over the future of Hegseth at the Pentagon is not the only news coming out of Capitol Hill today.
Ohio Republican Jim Jordan will replace congressman Mike Johnson as leader of the House Republicans after Johnson opted not to run in the wake of the US midterm elections.
Jordan will lead the Republican minority once the new Congressional representatives take office in January.
A co-founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Jordan is known as a Trump ally in the House.
As Jordan will assume his new role in January, this development won't impact today's procedural impeachment vote.
Massie's final four articles of impeachment against Hegseth relate to other US military operations.<\/i>
Article 5: Boat strikes in the Caribbean<\/b>
Article 6: US lawmakers who said military can 'refuse illegal orders'<\/b>
Article 7: Capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro<\/b>
Article 8: Strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen in 2025<\/b>
\"\"<\/span><\/span>Ana Faguy<\/strong>
Reporting from Capitol Hill<\/span>
We just heard from Senator Chuck Schumer, who currently serves as Minority Leader in the upper chamber, who unsurprisingly said he'd back an impeachment of Hegseth.
Schumer said he's "utterly unfit to lead" the defence department.
"Republicans need to listen to the American people," he said.
Schumer said he backs a trial in the Senate.
Reminder: The measure must pass the House before it goes to the Senate. <\/i>
This video can not be played
Top Democrat Chuck Schumer calls for Pete Hegseth's impeachment
The first four articles of impeachment written by Republican Congressman Thomas Massie all pertain to Hegseth's handling of the Iran war.<\/i>
Article 1: An unauthorised war<\/b>
Article 2: Ignoring Congress<\/b>
Article 3: Flouting a legal deadline<\/b>
Article 4: Ignoring civilian casualties<\/b>
\"\"<\/span><\/span>Ana Faguy<\/strong>
Reporting from Capitol Hill<\/span>
We don't know if this impeachment effort will make its way to the Senate, or whether the House will vote to advance the measure later today.
But if it does so before the new Congress is sworn in in January, there appears to be some Republican support for voting to convict Hegseth in the Senate.
Outgoing Republican Thom Tillis of North Carolina told reporters that if the House votes to impeach Hegseth, he would vote to convict him and remove him from office.
During Hegseth's confirmation hearing last year, Tillis provided an essential vote in support of the now defence secretary that he has since called the "biggest regret of my career".
Outgoing Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican, also expressed some skepticism with Hegseth, telling reporters earlier today that she had some questions for the defence secretary.
"I just want to make sure that the right information is flowing from the Pentagon to the president," she said.
"Is he being truthful in the way the war is going? We saw Iowans absolutely reject the war in Iran and the cost that it's causing on American families," she added, referring to the midterm elections in which Democrats won the Senate seat and governorship in her state.
Catch up on how the impeachment process works here.<\/a>
Copyright \u00a9 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.<\/a><\/p>\n

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