Massie’s effort to impeach Hegseth fails miserably, but Democrats vow to try again next year

War Secretary Pete Hegseth avoided the formal initiation of an ugly impeachment fight on Tuesday. His battle to keep his job is, however, far from over.The effort was initiated on Monday by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who introduced eight articles of impeachment that accused Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanors.'People should have gotten their raggedy selves up these steps to vote.'In addition to accusing the war secretary of waging war in contravention of the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the articles of impeachment accused him ordering extrajudicial killings, suppressing free speech, "ignoring laws that minimize civilian casualties," kidnapping Venezuelan ex-President Nicolas Maduro, and conducting an "unlawful war in Yemen."Democrats appeared more than happy to help Massie oust Hegseth.House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.J.), for instance, said that he was a "hard yes on the Hegseth resolution," claiming that the war secretary has "abused his power, undermined our national security, and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed prices on the American people and made the country less safe."RELATED: With Trump's backing, Hegseth vows to fight impeachment Pete Kiehart/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesSenate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) similarly advocated for removing Hegseth and welcomed Massie's resolution.On Tuesday morning, Hegseth held a press conference where he called the impeachment effort a "farce" and a "political spectacle" driven by Massie's "ego and resentment." He also argued that the allegations from Massie are not high crimes and misdemeanors but rather "policy disagreements."Several hours later, the House considered whether to hold a floor vote on the articles of impeachment.The House ultimately voted 211-204 on Tuesday to refer the articles to the GOP-controlled House Judiciary Committee, effectively killing the impeachment effort for the remainder of the current Congress.Massie, who is leaving Congress in January, was the lone Republican who voted with Democrats to advance the articles of impeachment toward a floor vote. Seven Republicans didn't bother to vote.Eleven Democrats did not show up to work and therefore did not vote on the procedural motion either. Given their votes would have tipped the scales, many of the no-shows have issued excuses.RELATED: Iran conflict was 'crucial' factor in Republican rout: Exit polls Alex Wong/Getty ImagesA spokesperson for Rep. Melanie Stansbury claimed, for instance, that the New Mexico Democrat was allegedly "blocked from entering the Capitol to vote due a traffic incident."Democrat Reps. Jonathan Jackson (Illinois), Marilyn Strickland (Wash.), and Laura Gillen (N.Y) also blamed traffic for their failures to appear.Virginia Rep. Eugene Vindman said he was at an event; Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford claimed he had a personal emergency; and California Rep. Nancy Pelosi was attending a Veterans Day celebration, reported the Washington Sun.New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was among the Democrats who were prickled by the absences, telling Forbes, "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."California Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove appeared especially peeved, telling a reporter, "We knew that this vote was coming, so people should have gotten their raggedy selves up these steps to vote. There is no reason why we should have lost this vote because of attendance issues."The Pentagon's rapid response account on X posted an AI-generated image of Massie crying with the caption, "The disgruntled, ousted congressman’s attempt to impeach Secretary Hegseth has FAILED!"Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in statement to Blaze News, "Secretary Hegseth will not back down or be deterred by politicians seeking to score partisan points or launch phony investigations where no wrongdoing exists.""The Department of War has followed the law and our Secretary will continue to stand and fight every single day to support and defend the Constitution, lead our troops, and protect America," added Parnell.Trump mocked Massie and his Democratic House colleagues over the failed impeachment effort, writing, "The Democrats’ attempt to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has miserably FAILED! Every single Republican, except Thomas Massie, a major LOSER, voted in favor of Pete."After defending his "victories" in Venezuela and Iran and characterizing the vote as an "EXONERATION" of Hegseth, Trump added that the Democrats' effort "to weaponize and abuse the United States of America" must be stopped.While Hegseth's job appears to be safe for now, Democrats have signaled they will wield their majorities in both chambers of Congress to remove him next year.Following the vote, Rep. Jeffries noted that Democrats have secured a "historic" majority in Congress and said of the Hegseth impeach effort, "This is not the end of it. It's just the beginning."Jeffries is reportedly in the planning stage for a new impeachment effort in the next Congress.Colorado Rep. Brittany Pettersen, one of the Democrats who missed the vote on Tuesday, tweeted, "Next year House Democrats will impeach Hegseth and neither Johnson nor Trump will be able to stop us."Like Blaze News? 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