Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., apologized Wednesday for missing a House vote on an effort to impeach War Secretary Pete Hegseth. She said heavy traffic and a police motorcade delayed her on the way to the Capitol.
“I am so sorry,” Stansbury said in a video posted to social media. She added that she was deeply disappointed not to be there when the vote began.
The House voted 211-204 on Tuesday to send an impeachment resolution introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to the Judiciary Committee, effectively halting the effort. Stansbury was one of 11 Democrats who missed the vote; seven Republicans were absent as well.
Stansbury said she was driving toward the Capitol as the vote approached and ran into what she described as “horrific” rush-hour traffic on Independence Avenue. A lane closure had added to the congestion, she said, leaving her stuck in the right-hand lane.
She could see the Capitol from her car and asked her staff to let House officials know she was delayed. Then, she said, a police motorcade escorting a bus away from the Capitol complex stopped traffic in both directions.
“I should have been there sooner,” Stansbury said, accepting that getting to the vote was her responsibility while adding that some of the delay was beyond her control.
Other Democrats who missed the vote had been returning from an Elect Democratic Women event about 1.5 miles from the Capitol, according to a report citing several lawmakers. Some found other ways to get there: one walked, while another was dropped off on the Senate side to avoid the traffic.
The other Democrats who missed the vote were Reps. Marilyn Strickland of Washington, Julia Brownley and Lou Correa of California, Laura Gillen of New York, Steven Horsford of Nevada, Jonathan Jackson of Illinois, Nancy Pelosi of California, Brittany Pettersen of Colorado, Haley Stevens of Michigan and Frederica Wilson of Florida.
Stansbury also said Democrats did not have enough votes to advance the impeachment effort, even if she had been present. She noted that a Senate conviction would require a two-thirds majority.
Massie’s resolution laid out eight articles of impeachment, accusing Hegseth of misconduct related to U.S. military operations, including the war in Iran and strikes in Yemen and Venezuela.
Hegseth rejected the allegations at a Pentagon news conference Tuesday, calling the effort an attack on the military. “This is not patriotism,” he said. “This is sabotage.”
President Donald Trump defended Hegseth and praised the House vote, describing it on social media as an exoneration of the defense secretary.
Democrats are set to take control of the House and Senate in January, a shift that could lead to another attempt to impeach Hegseth.
