THE ALASKA STORY
Nov. 10, 2026 — Alaska Congressman Nick Begich joined other Republicans in voting Tuesday to send an impeachment resolution against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the House Judiciary Committee. He joined nearly every voting Republican in blocking an immediate floor vote on the charges.
The House approved the referral, 211–204, effectively shelving Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie’s impeachment effort for the remainder of the current Congress. Massie will not be returning to the House in January.
Begich voted yea on the procedural motion sending the resolution to be buried in the committee; it was not a vote to impeach Hegseth.
Massie, who brought the resolution, was the only Republican to oppose the referral. Democrats who voted also opposed it, seeking to keep the impeachment effort alive and moving toward a floor decision.
The resolution, H. Res. 1655, contained eight articles accusing Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanors. The allegations included conducting military hostilities against Iran without congressional authorization, violating restrictions on continued hostilities, and misconduct involving civilian casualties and other military operations. The charges were allegations advanced by Massie, not findings adopted by the House.
Hegseth rejected the effort at a Pentagon news conference Tuesday, calling it a “political spectacle” and defending the operations as lawful actions directed by President Donald Trump.
The White House also urged lawmakers to approve the referral. In a formal statement of administration policy, it argued that policy disagreements did not constitute impeachable offenses and defended the president’s authority to direct military operations in the national interest.
“The Administration strongly encourages all Members to vote YES on the Motion to Refer,” the White House statement said.
Trump celebrated the outcome afterward, pointing to the near-unanimous support among voting Republicans for keeping the impeachment resolution from advancing.
The referral gives Hegseth a reprieve, but the issue could return when Democrats take control of the House in January. Democratic leaders have indicated they intend to revisit efforts to remove him.
