The US House of Representatives did not proceed to consider the charges against Defence Minister Pete Hegset: 211 Members of Congress voted in favour of referring the impeachment resolution to the Judiciary Committee, whilst 204 voted against. This scuppered the vote on the formal filing of the charges, which had been scheduled for 10 November.
The resolution was tabled on 9 November by Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky. It contains eight counts of impeachment, including waging war against Iran without congressional authorisation and abuse of power.
Hegset described the impeachment attempt as “a farce that will not succeed”. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that the initiative had “failed disgracefully” and described the Pentagon chief as a “great American patriot”.
The vote may merely delay further attempts to secure impeachment: in January, the Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Hegset is also facing growing criticism following the Republicans’ defeat in last week’s congressional elections.
The allegations relate to the war against Iran. The US and Israel began striking the country on 28 February. The stated primary aim of the operation was to destroy Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities; as a result, many Iranian leaders were killed.
Iran launched strikes against countries in the Persian Gulf and blocked the Strait of Hormuz, which is vital to the global energy market. This led to a rise in global oil and gas prices.
The original version of this article first appeared on Glob-News.com.