Hegseth Impeachment Vote Fails After ‘Elect Democratic Women’ Event Attendees Late to Vote

Several House Democrats landed themselves in hot water for missing the vote to impeach War Secretary Pete Hegseth — with some of them claiming they got stuck in traffic on the way back from an event hosted by minority whip Katherine Clark’s (D-MA) Elect Democratic Women PAC that was scheduled at the same time. Outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-KY) Tuesday evening effort to oust Hegseth was foiled by his fellow House Republicans in a 211-204 vote, which could have ended differently if the 11 Democrats who were absent had showed up on time. The Democrat members who did not make the vote were Reps. Julia Brownley (D-CA), Lou Correa (D-CA), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Laura Gillen (D-NY), Steven Horsford (D-NV), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), and Frederica Wilson (D-FL). Elect Democratic Women (EDW), a PAC co-founded by Clark, was holding a reception at a restaurant about a mile and a half away from the Capitol during the 5:30 p.m. vote. While Clark herself made it to the vote, Axios’ Andrew Solender reported that “some” of the missing Democrats got “caught in a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam” on the way back from the event. “Some members found other ways to get back to the Capitol because their cars were effectively stopped on the road,” Solender wrote. “One got out and walked. Another got dropped off on the Senate side to avoid the traffic.” According to Drop Site’s Julian Andreone, eight of the Democrats who missed the vote “have received support from EDW or its AIPAC-tied super PAC EDW Action.” Of those eight, he added that two are sitting board members of EDW: As the minority whip, Clark, in theory, is supposed to round up her fellow Democrats to get them to vote. The comments under her X post decrying the failed impeachment effort pointed that out: “What does a whip do?” asked Meidas Touch editor-in-chief Ron Filipkowski: “They got away with it because a bunch of Democrats didn’t show up,” wrote left-wing influencer Blakeley. “YOU’RE a disgrace!” Democrat attorney George Conway typed in all-caps: “ABSOLUTELY INSANE.” “THE HOUSE DEMOCRATIC ****WHIP**** WAS THROWING THE FUNDRAISING BASH THAT KEPT DEMOCRATS FROM VOTING TO SEND THE HEGSETH IMPEACHMENT VOTE TO THE FLOOR,” the disgruntled anti-Trump activist wrote: A handful of the absent representatives made statements defending themselves. Strickland’s chief of staff told the Daily Beast, “I was driving the Congresswoman and was forced to wait for a motorcade to pass by Capitol Police, causing the Congresswoman to miss the vote by 1 minute. She would have voted against the motion to refer.” Stansbury’s office made a similar statement on X, also blaming a traffic incident and “police escort of a bus”: “When she reached the chamber the vote had just gaveled out,” the statement claimed. “She immediately filed a report of her vote of ‘NO’ to the motion meant to kill the impeachment articles and refer them to the Judiciary Committee, as documented in the Congressional Record.” “Like Rep. Stansbury, I was stuck behind the same police escort blocking the Capitol when Republicans closed the vote,” Gillen added on X. “I would have voted no and believe strongly that Pete Hegseth should be impeached.” Jackson also posted a statement blaming the “traffic incident” amid the criticism: “I have since entered my NO vote in the Congressional Record. I remain firm in my position that Secretary Hegseth must be held accountable and impeached,” the Illinois congressman wrote. Pettersen attempted to flip the script, touting how she has helped to introduce articles of impeachment to “remove the deeply unqualified and dangerous Pete Hegseth” since April — and was, for reasons that went unstated, “denied the ability to vote on this motion while Mike Johnson worked overtime to shield him from accountability.” “Next year House Democrats will impeach Hegseth and neither Johnson nor Trump will be able to stop us,” the congresswoman claimed on X. Other members, including former House Speaker Pelosi, have yet to explain their absences from the vote. Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.