Pete Hegseth was somehow saved from impeachment by a DC traffic jam

Résumé détaillé

The fiasco has prompted other Democrats to lash out at their missing colleagues, while pundits pointed the finger at an under-pressure House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries

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Embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appears to have been saved from impeachment thanks to a “bumper-to-bumper” traffic jam in Washington, D.C. that stopped several House Democrats from getting back in time to vote.

Hegseth narrowly escaped after the vote to impeach him for “high crimes and misdemeanors” over waging the war in Iran and bombing alleged drug boats in the Caribbean without congressional approval failed Tuesday night.

Some Democrats who missed the vote were on their way back from an Elect Democratic Women event about 1.5 miles away when they got stuck in a major traffic jam, according to Axios reporter Andrew Solender.

The fiasco has prompted other Democrats to lash out at their missing colleagues, while political pundits and liberal figures pointed the finger at an under-pressure House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is facing pushback in a bid for House Speaker.

There were 11 Democrats among the 18 lawmakers who did not vote, allowing the Republican majority to pass the matter on to the GOP-led Judiciary Committee, where it will likely languish until Democrats take control of Congress in January 2027. If the 11 absent Democrats had voted to send the articles of impeachment to the House floor, they would have had the numbers.

When asked by reporters about the lack of attendance, Jeffries said, “I haven't had a conversation with anyone on the floor team about what may or may not have happened in terms of the Hegseth resolution, but this is not the end of it. It's just the beginning,” according to Politico’s Riley Rogerson.

Jeffries previously said he was a “hard yes” on impeaching Hegseth, but many held him responsible for the missing lawmakers.

“This is a major Hakeem Jeffries fail,” reacted left-leaning political commentator Krystal Ball. “You could have impeached the war criminal Pete Hegseth but Dems didn't show up to vote.”

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