The House voted 211-204 on Tuesday to send Rep. Thomas Massie's eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee, a procedural move that effectively killed the resolution and prevented a direct floor vote. The articles alleged constitutional violations tied to the Iran war and other military operations.
GOP leaders used a procedural motion to stop the resolution before a deadline. They wanted to shield Hegseth after President Trump signaled strong support, and many Republicans feared a public impeachment debate would add to fallout from midterm losses and elevated gas prices linked to the Iran war. Hegseth and his allies called the effort a political stunt and sabotage.
The House voted 211-204 to refer Thomas Massie's impeachment resolution against Pete Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee, effectively sidelining it. Fox News reported no other Republican joined Massie in opposing that move.
House Republicans blocked the Hegseth impeachment effort by voting 211-204 to refer it to committee, preventing a full floor vote.
Bernie Sanders said he would not back Chuck Schumer for Senate Democratic leader, joining calls for change.
Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron filed a new defamation lawsuit against Candace Owens in Tennessee over her false claims about Brigitte Macron's birth sex.
UK counter-terrorism police arrested a 41-year-old U.S. soldier near Gloucester as part of an espionage investigation involving alleged links to Russia.
BTexas Democrats spent their campaigns bashing the border wall. Now they won — what levers do they actually have?
BMartha Pskowski on X lays it out. The wall is federal, so Austin can't just cancel it.
BRight, but Congress holds the purse. Democrats won the House and Senate, so the funding spigot is off.
BIt's not that simple. Trump can move existing money. He's already shown he'll use emergency powers.
BEmergency powers aren't unlimited. The Supreme Court left the door open, but every move invites a lawsuit.
BThat's my point. They can slow it with lawsuits and local permit fights. They may not stop it, but they can make it expensive.
BExpensive doesn't stop steel going in the ground. If they control both chambers and still can't stop it, what did those voters win?
BThey won the power to attach riders and defund sections. That's not nothing.
BOh, come on. Riders can be vetoed, and a shutdown over the wall would blow back on them.
BMaybe. But Texas counties can deny access roads and drainage permits. That's where the fight is headed.
BSo your take is a slow-motion legal grind?
BMy take is the wall isn't a switch. It's federal money, state land, county permits. Democrats now sit at every table.
BFine. They can make it messy. But the wall itself? It's not coming down.
BNobody said it was coming down. Stopping new construction is the fight.
BAnd if they can't stop new construction, all those campaign promises were just noise.
BThey can stop parts of it. That's not noise, that's governing.
BBut the federal government can go around local permits in some cases. The administration has done it before.
BThen they'll fight in federal court. It won't be fast, but it's not nothing.
BYou keep saying 'not nothing.' That's a low bar for a party that just won on this issue.
BMaybe the bar is low because the wall was never going to be torn down overnight. Voters know that.
BMaybe. But the base wants action, not process.
BOne more on elections: a post out of Alaska is getting passed around.
BRon D. Watkins on X says Mary Peltola leads Dan Sullivan by around 2,500 votes. No official count we can confirm yet.
BIf accurate, that's a gut punch for Republicans. Alaska was supposed to be safe.
BSafe doesn't exist this cycle. More ballots are expected, and the post itself says it's not final.
BRight. We'll wait for the official count before calling anything.
BThe only call tonight: don't trust the midnight numbers.