The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday voted 211-204 on a procedural motion to refer an impeachment resolution against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to a committee for further consideration, effectively blocking the impeachment effort.
The procedural vote came one day after Republican Representative Thomas Massie unveiled impeachment articles against Hegseth over the U.S. war with Iran and other military hostilities.
Massie, a longtime critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, is retiring from Congress at the end of the year. He brought eight charges against Hegseth, asserting that Hegseth is violating three specific provisions of the War Powers Resolution of 1973.
"By engaging in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization, Secretary Hegseth is breaking the law and must be held accountable," Massie said in a statement on Monday.
At a news conference at the Pentagon Tuesday morning, Hegseth said that the impeachment effort led by Massie is a "farce" and a "stunt" aimed at damaging Trump, calling Massie a "disgruntled and defeated congressman."
Shortly before the House vote, the White House released a statement strongly opposing this impeachment resolution against Hegseth.
Despite the failed attempt, Hegseth is set to face further scrutiny going forward. Democrats flipped more than 40 seats in the Nov. 3 midterm elections and are expected to hold more than 250 seats when the new Congress takes office in January.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is on track to be elected House speaker in January, said that Democrats will "run Pete Hegseth out of town" when they take over Congress next year.
U.S. House blocks impeachment effort against defense chief
Heads of international organizations on Tuesday hailed China's significant contributions to clean energy development, green and low-carbon transition and global climate governance, as the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) continued in the Turkish coastal city of Antalya.
Speaking at a side event titled "Ecological Civilization and Beautiful China Practices" at the China Pavilion, Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said China has long been a staunch supporter of multilateralism, adding that its firm commitment to the UN cause, particularly the UN climate agenda, has helped change the world.
"China's South-South cooperation has also supported the transition to clean energy and climate resilience in many developing countries. Your energy transition is like nowhere else on Earth. I was privileged to witness this firsthand on my many visits to your beautiful country in the past few years. That has delivered jobs. It's delivered growth. It's delivered development and greater energy security at home," Stiell said.
International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol was equally effusive about China's energy transition, saying the country's speed of innovation had left a deep impression on him. China has shown the world the way forward, and a growing number of countries are following, he noted.
"China, the country that is hosting us today -- they have already made major achievements here, in terms of electric cars, in terms of renewables, in terms of battery storage and others. And I can tell you that China's role in clean energy is undisputable -- both in solar, wind, battery storage and electric cars," he said.
China's Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu told the same event that global climate governance now stands at a critical juncture, as the world moves from commitments to implementation.
He said China will always be a doer in climate action, firmly uphold multilateralism and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and work with all parties to deepen climate governance cooperation and push for practical outcomes at COP31.
Int'l organization heads at COP31 praise China's clean energy contributions
