WASHINGTON: Republicans in the US House of Representatives blocked an effort on Tuesday to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, winning a reprieve for the polarizing Pentagon chief before Democrats take control of Congress next year and possibly try again.
The vote on a procedural motion came just hours after Hegseth blasted efforts to impeach him as a farce and delivered a defiant defense of his record at the helm of the US military, winning praise from President Donald Trump.
The chamber voted 211 to 204 in favor of a motion to refer eight articles of impeachment to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, a move that the sponsor of the impeachment push, US Representative Thomas Massie, warned would kill it.
