The House sends Massie’s Hegseth impeachment articles to committee, 211 to 204. How California’s members voted

All eight California Republicans and Rep. Kevin Kiley voted to refer the articles, 40 of the state’s 43 Democrats voted no, and Secretary Hegseth said every operation cited was a lawful order from the president.

By Adaeze Monroe

The House on Tuesday evening referred Rep. Thomas Massie’s articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee, a procedural step that sets the measure aside for the rest of the Republican-controlled 119th Congress. The motion to refer House Resolution 1655 passed 211 to 204 at 6:02 p.m., according to the Clerk of the House. Republicans supplied 210 of the votes in favor, joined by one independent; Mr. Massie, a Kentucky Republican, was the only member of his party to vote no, alongside 203 Democrats. Eighteen members did not vote.

Hegseth’s case, and the administration’s

Mr. Hegseth answered the articles at a Pentagon news conference hours before the vote. “What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it’s not accountability. It’s a political spectacle, a personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment,” he said, ABC News reported. He said each military engagement cited in the articles, including the war with Iran and strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats, was a lawful action directed by President Trump, and noted that no defense secretary has been impeached “for carrying out lawful military operations, and in our case, successful ones at that.” Policy disagreements, he argued, are not high crimes or misdemeanors.

Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said after the vote that the referral “marks total victory for Secretary Hegseth, the Department of War, and the American warfighter,” and called the effort “a political exercise devoid of merit, evidence, or seriousness.” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social that the vote amounted to the “EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot,” citing what he called victories in Venezuela and Iran and the best recruitment numbers in the military’s history. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Paris, said Mr. Hegseth had carried out “a direct order from the commander-in-chief” and done so “quite effectively.”

Speaker Mike Johnson had said Monday that impeaching a defense secretary during hostilities abroad “would be a terrible, terrible look,” CBS News reported. Even some Republicans who have voted to limit the Iran war opposed impeachment. Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio told The Guardian the effort was “an effort to blame-shift on to Hegseth Congress’s failure and President Trump’s decision,” and credited Mr. Hegseth with “restoring morale for the active-duty force.”

What the articles charged

Mr. Massie’s 34-page resolution contains eight articles. Three accuse Mr. Hegseth of waging war against Iran without congressional authorization. Others allege that he ignored laws meant to limit civilian casualties, citing a strike on a school in Minab, Iran; that the boat strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific were unlawful; and that he acted improperly in the operation that captured Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, in the campaign in Yemen and in the Pentagon’s scrutiny of Sen. Mark Kelly. Mr. Hegseth “has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law,” Mr. Massie wrote. After introducing the articles Monday, he said the question “is whether he committed impeachable acts,” adding: “And the answer is yes, eight times.”

Republicans who had expressed doubts before the vote, including Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and French Hill of Arkansas, voted to refer the measure, the roll call shows.

Where California’s 52 members stood

The California delegation split almost entirely along party lines.

• Voted to refer (yes): Republicans Ken Calvert, Vince Fong, James Gallagher, Darrell Issa, Young Kim, Tom McClintock, Jay Obernolte and David Valadao, and Rep. Kevin Kiley, whom the Clerk lists as an independent.
• Voted against referral (no): 40 Democrats, including Pete Aguilar, the House Democratic Caucus chair; Ro Khanna; Zoe Lofgren; Sam Liccardo; Kevin Mullin; Jimmy Panetta; Mike Thompson; and Adam Gray.
• Did not vote: Democrats Julia Brownley, Lou Correa and Nancy Pelosi.

Khanna’s role

Among Californians, Rep. Ro Khanna of Fremont was the most visible supporter of impeachment. He said in a video message before the vote that he was working with Mr. Massie “to lead the charge,” ANI reported. “We had introduced the Iran War Powers Resolution that would have prevented the war in Iran. Now the voters have spoken. They want us to end this war. That begins with impeaching Pete Hegseth and convicting him in the Senate,” he said.

The partnership has a record behind it. The two introduced the Iran war powers resolution together, Mr. Khanna has said, and in 2025 they led the bipartisan push that produced the Epstein Files Transparency Act. On CNN this week, Mr. Khanna praised his Republican colleague: “Thomas literally gave up his career because he stood up on the war on Iran and on the Epstein files.”

Mr. Khanna is widely regarded as a likely contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. He has made repeated trips to New Hampshire this year as he considers a White House run, WMUR reported, and in October he campaigned in Hartsville, Conway, Charleston and Columbia, S.C., one of several possible 2028 Democrats visiting the early primary state before the midterms.

What comes next

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, expected to become speaker when Democrats take control of the House on Jan. 3, has called himself “a hard yes” on impeachment. Any new effort in the 120th Congress would require a new resolution. Mr. Massie, who lost his primary this year and leaves office in January, predicted that a Democratic majority would hold hearings. For California, home to major Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force installations and to major defense contractors, the question of how the war is overseen will carry into the new Congress.