11 Dems Don’t Attend Hegseth Impeachment Vote

If the House Democrats thought impeaching War Secretary Pete Hegseth, they'd better think again.

House Republicans were able to stop a measure to impeach Hegseth Tuesday. This was largely due to almost a dozen Democrats not showing up for the vote.

Some of the Democrats who did cast a vote did not hide their frustration.

“The people send us here to do a job. I don’t know if anyone had any real health issues or anything significant. So I want to leave room for that,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) told CNN’s Manu Raju. “But that being said, at the end of the day, we’re here to do a job. And the same way I had to clock in when I worked at a restaurant, we got to clock in and do our work here.”

Some members missed the vote, which ended around 6 p.m. EST, due to gridlock on Pennsylvania Avenue caused by a traffic accident.

“Like other Members of Congress, Rep. Stansbury was blocked from entering the Capitol to vote due to a traffic incident and a police escort of a bus during the vote,” Rep. Melanie Stansbury‘s (D-N.M.) office said in a statement on X. “When she reached the chamber, the vote had just gaveled out.”

“The Congresswoman was stuck behind a motorcade and missed the vote by 1 minute. She would have voted against the motion to refer,” Rep. Marilyn Strickland‘s (D-Wash.) chief of staff said.

The House voted to refer the resolution to committee. This allows Republicans to stop it from advancing during the lame-duck session. The 211-204 vote effectively stopped any efforts to impeach Hegseth until Democrats take back the majority.

The 11 Democrats who missed the vote were Stansbury, Strickland and Reps. Julia Brownley (Calif.), Lou Correa (Calif.), Laura Gillen (N.Y.), Steven Horsford (Nev.), Jonathan Jackson (Ill.), Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Brittany Pettersen (Colo.), Haley Stevens (Mich.) and Frederica Wilson (Fla.).