Democratic lawmakers expressed outrage at nearly a dozen of their colleagues for missing a vote Tuesday evening to impeach the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, allowing Republicans to squash the effort. Eleven Democrats missed the key procedural vote on the impeachment effort, which failed by just seven votes. Some blamed traffic and conflicting events and others accused Speaker Mike Johnson of closing the vote early.
Many of those not in the Capitol said they support the effort to impeach Hegseth. Richard Ojeda, the representative-elect of North Carolina, told CNN that the Democratic senators “failed” by not voting. The articles, introduced by Republican Thomas Massie, included charges of violating congressional authority by waging war in Iran.
The effort came after voters overwhelming cast ballots for Democratic candidates in the 2026 midterms, largely in rebuke of the Trump administration’s policies – including the war in Iran. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a representative from California, told MeidasTouch there was “no reason why we should have lost this vote because of attendance issues”. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico wrote on X that she was “blocked from entering the Capitol to vote due to a traffic incident and a police escort of a bus during the vote”.
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,” Stansbury wrote, adding that Hegseth “must be impeached now”. Laura Gillen of New York similarly wrote on X she too was stuck in traffic but “strongly” believes Hegseth should be impeached. Jonathan Jackson, of Illinois, wrote on X that he also was stuck behind the traffic jam.
Brittany Pettersen of California wrote on X that she was “denied” the ability to vote. Member of Pettersen’s office later told 9News she too was stuck in traffic. Julia Brownley of California wrote on Facebook that Johnson “closed the vote” before she could make it to the House floor.
Marilyn Strickland of Washington also missed the vote by one minute because she was stuck behind a motocade, but that she would have voted to impeach Hegseth, Strickland’s office told Politico. Nancy Pelosi of California missed the vote because she was in San Francisco to meet with local veterans and accept a Lifetime Advocate for Veterans Award, Pelosi’s spokesperson told SFGate Lou Correa of California wrote on Instagram that he was undergoing a medical procedure and remaining in his district until he was medically cleared. Steven Horsford of Nevada, Haley Stevens of Michigan and Frederica Wilson of Florida did not provide public reasons for their absence on Tuesday.
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