️🇺🇸 - House Republicans successfully blocked an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday night after 11 Democratic lawmakers missed a procedural vote, allowing the measure to be shelved by a narrow margin of 211 to 204, according to The Wall Street Journal, The Hill and The Wall Street.
️ The absent Democrats gave the Republicans the numbers to refer the articles of impeachment to the House Judiciary Committee, effectively killing the push for the rest of the lame-duck Congress. Rep. Thomas Massey (R-Ky.) was the only Republican to side with Democrats in opposing the move.
️ The 11 Democrats who missed the vote were Reps. Melanie Stansberry (N.M.), Marilyn Strickland (Wash.), Julia Brownlee (Calif.), Lou Correa (Calif.), Laura Gillen (N.Y.), Stephen Horsford (Neb.), Jonathan Jackson (Ill.), Nancy Steven Pelosi (Calif.), Elan Pelosi (Calif.), and Frederica Wilson (steel).
️ Some lawmakers blamed a traffic incident and a police convoy near the Capitol for their absence. Stansberry's office said she was "blocked from entering the Capitol" and missed the vote by one minute, while Strickland's chief of staff said she was "stuck behind a motorcade."
️ Colleagues did not hold back their frustration. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told CNN: "The people send us here to do a job... The same way I had to come in when I worked in a restaurant, we got to clock in and do our job here." Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) added: "There was no reason we should have lost this vote because of attendance issues."
Democratic leaders, including Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), said they did not pressure members to participate, calling it a conscience vote, and played down the idea of a race to impeach Gasth again when Democrats take the majority in January.