The Intercept reports:

Self-styled Secretary of War Pete Hegseth narrowly avoided impeachment Tuesday night, as solidarity from House Republicans blocked a bill introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., charging Hegseth with “high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Though Democrats overwhelmingly joined Massie’s effort following their midterm election landslide, the House voted 211 to 204 to refer the charges to a committee, allowing Republicans to slow the process. With 11 Democrats absent, they lacked the numbers. Massie, however, dismissed the impact of Democratic absences to The Intercept. “No, there were enough Republicans to rally to get here,” he said.

The procedural vote spared Republicans a more difficult vote on whether to impeach Hegseth on Massie’s eight charges, including waging wars without Congressional authorization and undercutting measures to prevent civilian casualties. It followed a week of increasingly desperate efforts by the Pentagon chief to shore up Congressional and White House support, including a campaign-style video intended to influence Trump, a social media campaign by underlings, and a rare appearance by Hegseth himself before the Pentagon press corps.

Over half an hour on Tuesday morning, Hegseth wove a web of lies designed to refute or obfuscate Massie’s eight charges. He claimed that the effort to impeach him was a stunt by just “one disgruntled congressman.” That, too, turned out to be false as 203 members of Congress voted with Massie.

On Tuesday, a coalition of more than 40 civil society organizations – including Oxfam America, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Common Defense, Demand Progress, MoveOn, and the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft – sent a letter calling on all House members to vote for every article of impeachment filed against Hegseth. [Continue reading…]