The Case Against Pete Hegseth — and the Eleven Empty Seats That Saved Him

The last time the House impeached a Secretary of War, it was 1876, the man was William Belknap, and the charge was taking kickbacks. Pete Hegseth likes the old title so much he’s been using it. On Tuesday, November 10, the House had the chance to bring back the old precedent, too. The articles were filed by a Republican. The votes were there. The math worked.

And then eleven Democrats didn’t show up.

The House voted 211 to 204 to refer Rep. Thomas Massie’s eight articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee — the polite parliamentary way of burying them for the rest of this Congress [3][4]. Eleven Democrats did not vote. Had all eleven been in their seats voting no, the motion fails 215 to 211, and the House is forced to confront the impeachment itself [4]. Hegseth didn’t survive on the merits. He survived on attendance.

So let’s do two things the House didn’t. First, lay out the case — every count of it, with the receipts. Then put names on the vote, because the record should show exactly who was in the room and who wasn’t.

Count one: shooting the shipwrecked

Start with the charge that should keep every American up at night. Since September 2025, the military under Hegseth’s command has carried out a campaign of lethal strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific — no arrests, no trials, no evidence presented to anyone — killing at least 240 people by the count cited in Massie’s articles [5]. The United Nations’ human rights chief said the strikes “violate international human rights law,” that people were being killed “in circumstances that find no justification in international law,” and urged the U.S. to prevent the “extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats, whatever the criminal conduct alleged against them” — while calling for prompt, independent investigations [8].

Then came September 2, 2025. After the first strike on a boat off Venezuela, survivors were left in the water. The military struck again and killed them. The Washington Post reported that Hegseth personally ordered the follow-up attack, giving a spoken order “to kill everybody” [7]. The administration disputes that account; the White House says Hegseth authorized Adm. Frank Bradley to conduct the strikes, and the Pentagon rejects the “double-tap” label [7].

Here’s the thing: it doesn’t much matter which version you believe, because both end at his desk. The Pentagon’s own Law of War Manual says persons “incapacitated by wounds, sickness, or shipwreck are in a helpless state, and it would be dishonorable and inhumane to make them the object of attack” [7]. A working group of former military lawyers called orders to “kill everybody” clearly illegal under international law; Sen. Tim Kaine said that if the Post’s reporting is accurate, the attack “rises to the level of a war crime”; and legal experts warned that each strike creates potential liability for the entire chain of command [7]. Either the Secretary gave that order, or he built and ran a killing program so loosely governed that it happened on his watch and he defended it afterward. Accountability exists precisely for both of those possibilities. That’s what “chain of command” means.

Count two: two wars Congress never declared

The Constitution gives the power to declare war to Congress. Not the President, and certainly not the Secretary of Defense. Three of Massie’s eight articles rest on the 1973 War Powers Resolution, and for good reason [1][5].

In the early hours of Saturday, January 3, 2026, U.S. forces struck Venezuela and seized its president, Nicolás Maduro, and flew him to New York. As of that morning, Congress had not authorized any American military strike or law enforcement move against Venezuela; congressional leaders were notified only after operations began, with Secretary of State Rubio explaining that the surprise nature of the operation meant it “was not something that could be shared beforehand” [11]. Massie’s articles call it what it is: the kidnapping of a foreign head of state without legal authority [5].

On February 28, 2026, the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began [13]. No declaration. No authorization. The House’s first attempt to rein it in fell short by a single vote, 213–214 [12]. By July — after three American service members were killed in an Iranian attack on a base in Jordan — the House finally passed a war powers resolution 214–208 [13], months into a war it never approved, while Hegseth went back to that same Congress asking for $67 billion to keep fighting it [13]. And then there is Yemen, where the articles accuse him of directing an unlawful war as well [5] — the same Yemen campaign whose strike details he typed into a group chat. Which brings us to:

Count three: strike plans in a group chat

In March 2025, Hegseth sent details of imminent strikes against the Houthis in Yemen over Signal, from his personal phone, to a chat that — as the whole country learned — included a journalist. In December 2025, the Pentagon’s own Inspector General concluded that he endangered troops by doing so, that he did not comply with department rules on using personal devices for official business, and that he violated Pentagon policy by failing to retain records of the chat because some of the messages were auto-deleted [9][10]. Sen. Jack Reed noted the information had gone to unauthorized recipients, “including family members and his personal attorney” [9].

Hegseth declined to be interviewed by the Inspector General and submitted a written statement instead [9][10]. His attorney then declared that the report “totally exonerates Pete Hegseth” [10]. If an enlisted sailor did any of this, there wouldn’t be a press release from his lawyer. There would be a court-martial.

Count four: targeting a senator for reading the oath out loud

In late 2025, Sen. Mark Kelly — a retired Navy captain, combat pilot, and astronaut — joined other veterans in Congress in a video reminding service members of something taught in basic training: you are obligated to refuse unlawful orders. The Pentagon answered with an investigation and a letter of censure, issued as part of proceedings to demote him, with Hegseth moving to downgrade Kelly’s retired rank and the retirement benefits that come with it [14]. Federal prosecutors, for their part, tried — and failed — to secure an indictment against Kelly and five other members of Congress [14].

In February 2026, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon blocked Hegseth’s effort, writing that the defendants “have trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms” [14]. Telling troops to obey the law is not a crime. Using the machinery of the Pentagon to punish a sitting senator for saying it is exactly the kind of abuse impeachment was written for — and Massie’s articles include it [1].

Count five: firing the lawyers first

If you want to know whether any of this was an accident, look at what happened in February 2025, weeks into the job. In a single night, Hegseth and the President removed the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. CQ Brown, the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Lisa Franchetti — and the top judge advocates general of the Army and the Air Force, the uniformed lawyers whose job is to tell commanders when an order is illegal (the Navy’s top lawyer had retired two months earlier) [15][16]. The firings came, in the AP’s words, “without any specified reasons in terms of their conduct.” Pressed afterward, Hegseth said only that he didn’t think they were “well-suited” to advise on lawful orders [16].

Not well-suited to tell the Secretary when an order is unlawful. Sit with that phrasing, then look at what came next. He cleared the legal guardrails out of the building. Seven months later, boats started exploding. You don’t have to be a prosecutor to see the sequence.

On war crimes — what accountability would actually look like

My opinion, clearly labeled: what happened on September 2 deserves a genuine war crimes investigation, and so does the broader boat-strike campaign. One honest correction on how, though, because getting it right is the whole point of this site: the United Nations can condemn, investigate, and document — and its human rights chief already has [8] — but it doesn’t put individuals on trial. The real venues are a court-martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the federal War Crimes Act, which applies to U.S. personnel by design, or the International Criminal Court, whose reach over Americans is limited because the U.S. never joined it. The fastest, most legitimate path to accountability runs through American institutions.

Which is exactly why the vote on November 10 mattered so much. Impeachment is the tool the Constitution hands Congress when the people running the military stop answering to the law. It was on the floor. It was within reach.

The eleven empty seats

Here are the eleven Democrats who did not vote, with the reasons they gave — which, to be fair, vary a lot [4][5][6].

Member	State	What they said
Julia Brownley	California	No public explanation as of reporting
Lou Correa	California	Announced in advance; medical procedure, doctor advised against travel; says he “vehemently” supports impeachment
Laura Gillen	New York	Stuck behind a traffic incident and police-escorted bus; would have voted no
Steven Horsford	Nevada	Personal emergency; office says he’d have opposed the motion
Jonathan Jackson	Illinois	Traffic delay; entered a “no” intent in the Congressional Record
Nancy Pelosi	California	In San Francisco for a Veterans Day event; would have voted no
Brittany Pettersen	Colorado	Says she was “denied the ability to vote”
Melanie Stansbury	New Mexico	Blocked by the traffic incident; filed a “no” for the Record
Haley Stevens	Michigan	No explanation reported
Marilyn Strickland	Washington	Caught behind a motorcade; missed it by one minute
Frederica Wilson	Florida	No explanation reported

Some of those reasons are genuinely sympathetic. A medical procedure is a medical procedure. But six members reached the chamber after the vote closed — a vote that was already held open for 29 minutes, nearly double its scheduled length [4]. Three never explained their absence at all. And the former Speaker of the House chose a Veterans Day event over a vote on whether the man running the military should answer for killing shipwrecked men — a choice I’ll let veterans weigh for themselves.

Here’s the hardest part to swallow: the vote didn’t sneak up on anyone. Massie filed these articles in September. Republican leaders canceled the House’s last day of work before a lengthy recess, pushing the vote to November, and Speaker Johnson told everyone exactly what would happen: “It will immediately be tabled, of course. But we probably won’t do that today. We will do it when we come back” [2]. Democrats had two months of notice that this vote was coming the week they returned. A note of a “no” in the Congressional Record is a nice gesture. It is not a vote. When the margin is seven and you’re eleven short, “I would have voted no” is just a more polished way of saying you weren’t there.

The Republicans who voted to proceed

Rather than list every Republican who voted to bury the articles, it’s far quicker to list the ones who broke ranks to keep impeachment alive. I expected a short list. It’s shorter than I expected.

Member	State
Thomas Massie	Kentucky

That’s it. That’s the list. Massie — the man who wrote the articles — was the only Republican to vote against burying them [3]. Every other Republican present voted to protect Hegseth. Seven more were absent: Monica De La Cruz (Texas), Neal Dunn (Florida), Russell Fry (South Carolina), Julia Letlow (Louisiana), Tom Tiffany (Wisconsin), Derrick Van Orden (Wisconsin), and Rudy Yakym III (Indiana) [5][6].

Whatever you think of Thomas Massie — and I disagree with him on plenty — he did something almost unheard of: he tried to impeach a Cabinet officer of his own party, without clearing it with leadership, because he believed the Constitution required it [1]. The President’s response was to call him “a major LOSER” on Truth Social [6]. Massie’s response to the Democrats who missed the vote was colder than anything I can write: “They diagnosed why they lost the election. But tonight they were paralyzed to do anything about it” [6].

What happens now

Democrats take control of the House on January 3, and Hakeem Jeffries has said the caucus will discuss bringing impeachment back “at the appropriate time” [3][5]. Good. When they do, the case will still be sitting right here, every count of it. Shipwrecked men struck twice. Two wars Congress never voted for. Strike plans shared over a commercial chat app with people who had no business seeing them. A decorated senator targeted for reciting the oath. The military’s top lawyers fired without cause before any of it began.

None of that expires at the end of a Congress. The only thing that ran out on November 10 was the excuse. Next time, the people who say they’ll hold this man accountable need to do the simplest, most basic part of the job.

Show up.

References

[1] “Massie files resolution to impeach Hegseth, forces House vote: ‘Violated the Constitution.’” KUTV / Sinclair, September 2026. https://kutv.com/news/nation-world/republican-rep-thomas-massie-kentucky-files-resolution-to-impeach-defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-forcing-house-vote-eight-articles-iran-war-powers-resolution-midterm-elections-loss-democrats-congress

[2] “House Hegseth impeachment vote pushed until after November elections.” Stars and Stripes, September 16, 2026. https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2026-09-16/house-hegseth-impeachment-22873869.html

[3] “Did Democrats save Pete Hegseth from impeachment?” Al Jazeera, November 11, 2026. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/11/did-democrats-save-pete-hegseth-from-impeachment

[4] “Several Democrats missed the crucial Hegseth impeachment vote. Many blamed traffic.” ABC News, November 11, 2026. https://abcnews.com/Politics/democrats-missed-crucial-hegseth-impeachment-vote-blamed-traffic/story?id=138053963

[5] “Full List of Democrats Who Missed Hegseth Impeachment Vote.” Newsweek, November 11, 2026. https://www.newsweek.com/11-democrats-missed-hegseth-impeachment-vote-12697693

[6] “Hegseth Survives Impeachment Attempt.” The Intercept, November 10, 2026. https://theintercept.com/2026/11/10/hegseth-no-impeachment-house-vote/

[7] “Hegseth’s boat strikes and the question of war crimes.” The Intercept, December 2, 2025. https://theintercept.com/2025/12/02/hegseth-boat-strikes-war-crime-venezuela/

[8] “US strikes in Caribbean and Pacific breach international law, says UN rights chief.” UN News, October 31, 2025. https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/10/1166234

[9] “Pentagon watchdog finds Hegseth’s Signal use endangered troops.” Roll Call, December 4, 2025. https://rollcall.com/2025/12/04/pentagon-watchdog-finds-hegseths-signal-use-endangered-troops/

[10] “IG finds Hegseth risked endangering Houthi mission with Signal use.” Military Times, December 4, 2025. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2025/12/04/ig-finds-hegseth-risked-endangering-houthi-mission-with-signal-use/

[11] “Maduro capture by US in Venezuela raises new legal questions.” Associated Press via NBC Washington, January 3, 2026. https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/maduro-capture-us-venezuela-raise-new-legal-questions/4036758/

[12] “US House narrowly defeats resolution limiting Trump war powers.” Florida Phoenix / States Newsroom, April 16, 2026. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/04/16/repub/us-house-narrowly-defeats-resolution-limiting-trump-war-powers/

[13] “US House votes to limit Iran war for first time since ceasefire breakdown.” Al Jazeera, July 23, 2026. https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/23/us-house-votes-to-limit-iran-war-for-first-time-since-ceasefire-breakdown

[14] “Judge Rules Against Hegseth, Finding That He ‘Trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment Freedoms.’” Talking Points Memo, February 12, 2026. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/judge-rules-against-hegseth-kelly-rank

[15] “Fired: Joint Chiefs Chairman, Top Navy Leader, Air Force Vice Chief, Service Judge Advocates General.” Military.com, February 21, 2025. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/02/21/fired-joint-chiefs-chairman-top-navy-leader-air-force-vice-chief-service-judge-advocates-general.html

[16] “Hegseth says he fired the top military lawyers because they weren’t well suited for the jobs.” Associated Press via KSAT, February 24, 2025. https://www.ksat.com/news/politics/2025/02/25/hegseth-says-he-fired-the-top-military-lawyers-because-they-werent-well-suited-for-the-jobs/