Revelation: 11 Democrats failed to vote, helping save Pete Hegseth from impeachment

Political victories in Washington are not always decided by persuasive arguments or overwhelming public support. Sometimes, the outcome comes down to something considerably less glamorous: whether lawmakers actually turn up to vote.

With Republicans preparing to surrender control of the House following the midterm elections, Democrats have been eager to demonstrate that Donald Trump’s administration will face tougher scrutiny.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to be an early target, with a Republican congressman leading an impeachment effort over allegations involving military operations, constitutional violations and abuses of power.

But the attempt collapsed on Tuesday evening, and the result has left Democrats furious with members of their own party, New York TImes can reveal.

The reason was particularly embarrassing. Eleven Democratic lawmakers failed to cast their votes, handing Republicans a narrow victory and effectively ending the impeachment effort for the current Congress.

Among those absent was one of the Democratic Party’s most recognizable figures, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Republicans survive a vote they feared losing

The impeachment effort began when outgoing Republican Representative Thomas Massie formally introduced eight articles against Hegseth on Monday.

The allegations concerned the administration’s military operations in Iran, Venezuela and Yemen, along with accusations that Hegseth had violated constitutional protections.

Hegseth has denied wrongdoing, while Trump has repeatedly defended his defense secretary.

Republicans moved to prevent Massie’s impeachment articles from advancing to separate votes on the House floor.

Their procedural maneuver succeeded by 211 votes to 204 on Tuesday evening.

Massie was the only Republican to side with Democrats.

According to The New York Times, Republican lawmakers had privately worried that they might not have enough support to defeat the impeachment effort.

But the absence of 11 Democrats helped deliver the result they needed.

Altogether, 18 House members did not vote.

The outcome prevented Massie from forcing separate votes on the impeachment charges, effectively ending his attempt during the current congressional session.

For Democrats hoping to hold Hegseth accountable, the arithmetic was particularly frustrating.

Had all 11 absent Democrats voted against the Republican motion, the result would have been 211 to 215, assuming every other vote remained unchanged.

Instead, Republicans prevailed despite the concerns reportedly circulating within their own ranks.

Nancy Pelosi faces criticism over her absence

Much of the immediate backlash focused on Nancy Pelosi, the 86-year-old former House speaker.

Pelosi had been photographed outside a House Democratic Caucus meeting at the Longworth House Office Building in Washington earlier on Tuesday.

However, she did not participate in the evening’s impeachment-related vote.

Her spokesman, Ian Krager, subsequently confirmed to The Daily Beast that Pelosi had traveled to San Francisco to attend a Veterans Day event.

“Speaker Emerita Pelosi returned to San Francisco to join and honor local veterans at Swords to Plowshares’ 30th Annual Veterans Day Celebration tonight, an important and longstanding district tradition she regularly attends and will mark for the last time as a Member of Congress by receiving the Lifetime Advocate for Veterans Award,” Krager explained.

He also emphasized that Pelosi supported the effort to impeach Hegseth.

“She supports impeaching Secretary Hegseth and would have voted ‘No’ on the motion to refer.”

The explanation did little to satisfy some critics.

Angry commenters targeted Pelosi beneath an earlier X post about her attendance at the Glide Holiday Jam in San Francisco, where singer Patti LaBelle had performed.

For those frustrated by the impeachment defeat, the fact that Pelosi supported removing Hegseth only made her absence more difficult to accept.

Her intended vote, after all, could not affect the official tally once the House had concluded proceedings.

Eleven Democrats were missing when it mattered

Pelosi was far from the only Democrat who failed to vote.

The other absent lawmakers were Julia Brownley and Lou Correa of California, Laura Gillen of New York, Steven Horsford of Nevada, Jonathan Jackson of Illinois, Brittany Pettersen of Colorado, Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, Haley Stevens of Michigan, Marilyn Strickland of Washington and Frederica Wilson of Florida.

Stevens had already attracted criticism from fellow Democrats earlier in November after endorsing Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers over Democrat Abdul El-Sayed shortly before the midterm elections.

Her absence therefore added another controversial chapter to an already difficult period within the party.

But not every missing lawmaker had simply chosen to be somewhere else.

Stansbury’s office said that circumstances outside her control had prevented her from reaching the House chamber before voting ended.

“Like other Members of Congress, Rep. Stansbury was blocked from entering the Capitol to vote due a traffic incident and a police escort of a bus during the vote,” a statement posted to her X account explained.

According to the statement, Stansbury reached the chamber just as the vote had been “gaveled out.”

Her office said that “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.”

The statement ended with a clear demand.

“Pete Hegseth must be impeached now.”

Despite the explanation, some social media users remained unconvinced.

“How did the other 204 Dems manage to get there and vote?” one commenter asked.

Stansbury’s reported attempt to register her position afterward did not change the official result.

Democratic congresswoman delivers furious verdict

The frustration was not confined to social media.

Democratic Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove openly criticized colleagues who had failed to participate in the vote.

Speaking to MeidasTouch, she argued that lawmakers had known the vote was coming and should have made attendance a priority.

“We knew that this vote was coming, so people should have gotten their raggedy selves up these steps to vote,” she said.

“There is no reason why we should have lost this vote because of attendance issues.”

Kamlager-Dove continued by contrasting the Democrats’ absences with the Republicans’ determination to defeat the impeachment effort.

“So shame on folks who are not here. Because these people lost. They lost, and they still found a way to show up to table this bill. Shameful.”

Her remarks reflected a broader source of Democratic frustration following the vote.

The party had an opportunity to challenge a prominent member of Trump’s administration, but its own attendance problems helped Republicans secure a procedural victory.

The circumstances were particularly awkward given the Democrats’ recent electoral success and their promises to increase oversight of the administration.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warns the scrutiny is far from over

Although Tuesday’s result halted Massie’s impeachment effort, some Democrats have already indicated that Hegseth could face renewed investigations.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told CNN that the incoming congressional session could bring extensive scrutiny of administration officials.

“There are so many criminals in this administration its hard to figure out who should be, you know, the order of operations,” she said.

“There are going to be many, many, many investigations, I imagine many subpoenas, and we have to follow wherever the evidence takes us.”

Her remarks suggested that Democrats may pursue multiple investigations once the new Congress begins its work.

However, any future impeachment effort would require a new legislative process.

Tuesday’s defeat does not establish that Hegseth committed no wrongdoing, just as the introduction of impeachment articles does not establish that the allegations against him are true.

The vote concerned a procedural motion rather than a final determination of the defense secretary’s conduct.

Trump celebrates and attacks the Republican behind the effort

While Democrats argued over the missed votes, Trump wasted little time celebrating the outcome.

The president took to Truth Social on Tuesday to portray the result as a major victory for his administration.

“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,” Trump wrote.

His statement notably characterized the effort as a Democratic initiative, despite the impeachment articles having been introduced by Massie, a Republican.

Trump also singled out Massie for criticism, continuing the hostility between the president and the congressman.

The result allows Hegseth to remain in office without facing further votes on Massie’s eight impeachment articles during the current Congress.

For the administration, the immediate threat has passed.

For Democrats, however, the episode has created a political headache of their own making.

This article is made and published by Nicolai H, who may have used AI in the preparation