Democrats blame traffic jam for failed Hegseth impeachment vote

Democrats blame traffic jam for failed impeachment vote against Pete Hegseth Advertisement Updated: 5:56 PM EST Nov 11, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Matt Cudahy Digital Curator Democrats blame traffic jam for failed impeachment vote against Pete Hegseth Updated: 5:56 PM EST Nov 11, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Matt Cudahy Digital Curator Republicans in the House of Representatives successfully derailed the impeachment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Tuesday night. One reason Republicans succeeded with relative ease was that 11 House Democrats missed the vote. The final tally was 211-204. Advertisement Their absences were unexpected and frustrated some party members. "The people send us here to do a job. I don't know if anyone had any real health issues or anything significant. So I want to leave room for that,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York told CNN. “But that being said, at the end of the day, we're here to do a job. And the same way I had to clock in when I worked at a restaurant, we got to clock in and do our work here.” As it turns out, according to the lawmakers who missed the vote, traffic caused their truancy. House schedules procedural vote on GOP lawmaker's effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Shortly after the failed vote, Rep. Jonathan Jackson of Illinois released a statement on social media. "While en route to the floor to oppose that motion, a traffic incident and a police-escorted bus caused a delay that resulted in the vote closing before I, along with other Members, could reach the chamber. I have since entered my NO vote in the Congressional Record," Jackson wrote. Democratic Reps. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, Marilyn Strickland of Washington and Julia Brownley of California also blamed traffic. Brownley said she was leaving an event for Elect Democratic Women, a pro-choice political action committee, Tuesday evening. The 74-year-old congresswoman told USA Today that when she realized the traffic would make her miss the vote, she got out of her car and ran toward the Capitol. However, she "missed it by seconds," she said. Stansbury released a video Wednesday that went into more detail about her experience. She said that the conglomeration of circumstances, including a lane closure, a police escort that blocked traffic and the general chaos of rush hour, prevented her from getting to the Capitol on time. Stansbury also explained that while her and the other Democrats' absence was disappointing and worthy of criticism, it didn't actually prevent the House from impeaching Hegseth. She noted that only Rep. Thomas Massie, the author of the article of impeachment, was the only Republican to vote with the Democrats, and that Tuesday's vote was a procedural measure on whether to send the impeachment to committee or advance it to a final vote. Even if the Democrats advanced the impeachment, the GOP would have had the numbers to block it in the final vote. Notably, seven Republicans also missed Tuesday night's vote. "While I know that it is my responsibility to be here, I know that I should have been there that moment, we did not have the numbers to move forward to impeach Pete Hegseth at this moment," Stansbury said. "Not to mention in the Senate where he would have to have a trial and be convicted with a two-thirds vote." House halts impeachment effort against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Stansbury added that Democrats will assuredly attempt to impeach Hegseth again during the next session, when Democrats will have a majority, if he is still in the administration. Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Lou Correa also missed Tuesday's vote, but they did not attribute their absence to the traffic. Pelosi's office said she was back in California for a Veterans Day event and Correa said he was preparing for a medical procedure. Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan, who recently ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate and made waves for endorsing the Republican in the primary, also missed the vote. She has not provided a reason. Make WLWT a preferred source on Google Add Preferred Source Share Infinite Scroll Enabled Top Picks JoBe Cerny, who voiced the Pillsbury Doughboy, has died Lessie Benningfield Randle, the last known Tulsa Race Massacre survivor, turns 112 They longed to hold their fragile NICU babies. A new device made it possible 106-year-old WWII veteran reflects on his service and provides life advice