US House blocks bid to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth

An effort to impeach US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing him of waging war on Iran without congressional authorisation, has failed on Capitol Hill.



A majority of the House of Representatives agreed to refer impeachment articles to a committee - essentially temporarily killing the effort introduced by dissident Republican congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky.



In his first news briefing from the Pentagon in six months, Hegseth called the impeachment effort a "farce" and "sabotage".



The bid to find the cabinet secretary guilty of misconduct and ultimately remove him from office was seen as a long shot as it could have required a number of other Republicans to defy President Donald Trump.



Massie was the only Republican to vote against moving the resolution to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

His effort failed in a 211-204 vote, with more than a dozen members, including 11 Democrats, missing the vote.



Massie had previously acknowledged his impeachment bid may not succeed immediately, but argued it could help push Trump to replace Hegseth before Democrats can launch their own impeachment process.



The Kentucky congressman also said that removing Hegseth now would give the Senate time to approve a replacement while Republicans were still in power.

Impeachment resolutions can be carried past the end of a congressional term, meaning Democrats would be able to take it up next year.



The Democrats will take control of both chambers of Congress in January following a successful midterm election that allowed them control of both chambers.