House Democrats failed to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday night, and the 211-204 defeat has ignited immediate recriminations inside the party. Several lawmakers and leadership were absent during the handling of the Pentagon’s chief case.
Why House Democrats are criticizing colleagues over the 211-204 vote
Eleven House Democrats skipped the vote, dooming the measure despite every member who showed up backing it alongside Republican Rep. Thomas Massie. The missing lawmakers were Reps. Julia Brownley, Lou Correa, Laura Gillen, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Brittany Pettersen, Haley Stevens, Melanie Stansbury, Marilyn Strickland, Frederica Wilson, and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.
This sparked immediate backlash inside the party, which had hoped to capitalize on momentum just a week after a blue tsunami swept the country. Instead, Democratic infighting grabbed the spotlight. One House Democrat vented to the Washington Sun on Wednesday: “I’m like, come on, we need to get our fu**ing sh*t together.”
Lawmakers speaking anonymously stressed that Democratic leadership never whipped the vote, meaning it did not rally, persuade, or convince members to show up. Leadership also did not push lawmakers to stay near Capitol Hill. “There needed to be some enforcement ahead of time by the leadership,” a second House Democrat said. “Ordinarily if you have a vote on a rule or something, obviously not trying to miss the vote, but if you miss it, it’s not the end of the world. This was not one of those smaller votes. This was a huge vote.” A third representative added: “There’s definitely room to encourage people to be close by campus. On some of our tough votes, we’ve done that.”
The outcome handed Donald Trump a talking point, which he seized on Truth Social. “The Democrats’ attempt to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has miserably FAILED!” he wrote. “Every single Republican, except Thomas Massie, a major LOSER, voted in favor of Pete.” The failed Pentagon impeachment vote now leaves Democrats confronting questions about leadership’s vote management and whether the caucus can avoid similar missteps going forward.
