The House of Representatives delayed an effort to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday evening after 11 Democratic representatives missed a key procedural vote. A Republican proposal to refer eight articles of impeachment to the House Committee on the Judiciary passed with 211 votes in favour and 204 against.
Democratic lawmakers sharply criticised colleagues who were absent. Abdul El-Sayed, the elected senator from Michigan, told Democrats on CNN: "You should show up and do your job." Richard Ojeda, the elected representative from North Carolina, told CNN that Democratic representatives had "dropped the ball" by not voting. "Shame on them for not showing up," Ojeda said.
Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a representative from California, told MeidasTouch that there was "no reason we lost this vote because of attendance issues". She added: "Shame on those who were not here because those people lost."
Some representatives justified their absence with traffic and conflicting obligations, while others accused House Speaker Mike Johnson of closing the vote too early. Melanie Stansbury from New Mexico wrote on X that she was "prevented from entering the Capitol to vote due to a traffic incident and police escort of a bus". She noted that when she arrived in the chamber, the vote had just been closed, and that she immediately filed a report of her 'NO' vote on the proposal.
Laura Gillen from New York wrote on X that she was stuck in traffic but "strongly" believes Hegseth should be impeached. Jonathan Jackson from Illinois wrote that he was stuck behind a traffic jam. Brittany Pettersen from California wrote that her right to vote was "denied", and a member of her office later told 9News that she was stuck in traffic. Julia Brownley from California wrote on Facebook that Johnson "closed the vote" before she reached the House floor.
Marilyn Strickland from Washington missed the vote by one minute because she was stuck behind a motorised convoy, but would have voted to impeach Hegseth, her office told Politico. Nancy Pelosi from California missed the vote because she was in San Francisco for a meeting with local veterans and to receive the Lifetime Advocate for Veterans Award, her spokesperson told SFGate. Lou Correa from California wrote on Instagram that he was undergoing a medical procedure and would remain in his district until doctors discharged him.
Steven Horsford from Nevada, Haley Stevens from Michigan and Frederica Wilson from Florida did not publicly state the reasons for their absence. Pat Ryan from New York wrote on X that he is recovering from spinal surgery, but had left the hospital earlier to cast his vote.
The articles of impeachment were introduced by Republican Thomas Massie, and included charges of violating Congressional authority by waging war in Iran.
