House Dems Get Nailed on Hegseth Vote by Community Notes, Their Own Base, and Even TMZ

"Republican" Rep. Thomas Massie (KY-04) decided to take a final shot at President Donald Trump on his way out the door after getting decimated in his primary. 

He reintroduced articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. 

But the effort went down in flames when the House voted to refer it to committee, effectively blackholing it for now, 211 to 204.

🚨BREAKING: The GOP-led House votes to refer the articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to the House Judiciary Committee, effectively killing the measure https://t.co/bQQU2KKzld

— Off The Press (@OffThePress1) November 10, 2026

All the Republicans — except for Massie — voted to refer it, killing it. All the Democrats voted against that. 

But then, when the House Democrats' account posted about the result, they lied about Republicans and failed to note a rather critical point in the process. 

Pete Hegseth is unfit and unqualified to serve as Secretary of Defense. House Republicans just chose to protect him over American servicemembers.

— House Democrats (@HouseDemocrats) November 10, 2026

Pete Hegseth is unfit and unqualified to serve as Secretary of Defense. House Republicans just chose to protect him over American servicemembers

No, they're not "choosing "to protect him over American servicemembers (sic)." Supporting him is the best thing they can do for service members. 

But the House Democrats then got smacked by a Community Note reminding them of a critical reason the vote failed that they were leaving out: 11 Democrats didn't show up for the vote. 

So if they had those Democrats there, they might have been able to block it. But they obviously failed big time in the planning/getting the vote together. 

The House Democrats were lambasted in the comments to their tweet by angry Democrats, who were upset with them for not getting it done. 

Then maybe show up to vote for it.

— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) November 11, 2026

A few of those Democrats who missed the vote weighed in, saying they were stuck in traffic. 

Like Rep. Stansbury, I was stuck behind the same police escort blocking the Capitol when Republicans closed the vote. I would have voted no and believe strongly that Pete Hegseth should be impeached.

— Congresswoman Laura Gillen (@RepLauraGillen) November 11, 2026

Tonight, House Republicans voted to send the articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee, a move designed to stall accountability without a direct vote on the merits. While en route to the floor to oppose that motion, a traffic incident and a police-escorted bus caused a delay that resulted in the vote closing before I, along with other Members, could reach the chamber. I have since entered my NO vote in the Congressional Record. I remain firm in my position that Secretary Hegseth must be held accountable and impeached.

— Rep. Jonathan L. Jackson (@rep_jackson) November 11, 2026

They, too, got whacked by Community Notes questioning the excuse. 

Turns out one of the TMZ guys who covers Congress, Charlie Cotton, also nailed Democrat Rep. Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), one of the people who said he was stuck in traffic. Cotton said he saw Jackson there at the Capitol on the steps several minutes before the vote, with time to make the vote. 

😬 Rep. Jonathan Jackson told @hicharliecotton he couldn't wait another day to impeach Pete Hegseth... but somehow couldn't take a few more steps to the House floor for a vote. https://t.co/hxPYEJu1F1

— TMZ (@TMZ) November 11, 2026

So talk about a complete mess for the Democrats and a loss right out of the gate for the ability of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) to lead. They're not even in power yet, and they can't get it together, and then at least one of them gets nailed on his excuse. 

This whole exercise is rather silly to begin with. The Democrats will likely impeach Hegseth when they come back in with the new Congress in January because they will have enough members for the vote in the House, even if they have no "high crimes or misdemeanors" and it's all a sham. However, they won't have the two-thirds needed for a conviction in the Senate. So barring something very unusual, it would fail in the Senate. 

At this point, Republicans should view an impeachment as a sign they're doing something right, because Democrats have made it only about their political retribution, not about anything connected to a true impeachable offense. Expect Democrats to try this with a variety of people, probably to no ultimate effect, but as an effort to make the Trump administration look bad and to stall its agenda. 

In the case of Hegseth, it appears more about trying to create enough of a furor to stampede Trump into firing him. But Trump isn't complying; indeed, he's telling the Democrats to take a walk. 

Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.

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