Political gridlock frustrates people across the country, while Washington commuters have their own daily battle with traffic. This week, the city’s congestion may have helped prevent Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from becoming just the third Cabinet secretary impeached by the House.
Republicans voted 211-204 to send Rep. Thomas Massie’s effort to impeach Hegseth to the House Judiciary Committee, blocking an immediate vote on whether to impeach him. The committee route is widely seen as a dead end. If the motion had failed, lawmakers would have faced a direct vote on the impeachment articles.
Only two Cabinet secretaries have been impeached by the House: 19th-century Secretary of War William Belknap and former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Hegseth came close to joining them, but the vote’s narrow margin—and who made it to the Capitol—changed the outcome.
All Democrats were expected to support impeachment, but seven Republicans were initially absent. At one point, the vote to refer the articles stood at 204-204. A tie would have failed, triggering a vote on impeachment itself. More Republicans arrived, while several Democrats did not. Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington, presiding over the House, eventually closed the vote at 211 in favor of referral and 204 against.
Eleven Democrats missed the roll call. The numbers were tight: a shift of four votes could have resulted in Hegseth’s impeachment, 208-207. If all 11 absent Democrats had voted against sending the articles to committee, impeachment likely would have passed 215-211. Even eight additional Democratic votes could have made the difference.
The missed votes drew criticism from within the party. Rep.-elect Richard Ojeda of North Carolina said Democrats who failed to attend should be ashamed. Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts said he would not make excuses for colleagues missing such an important vote.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, a vocal critic of Hegseth, said she was unable to reach the Capitol because a police motorcade had stopped traffic. When asked why she had not arrived earlier, she repeated that she had been stuck in her car.
There is, however, a constitutional provision that may give lawmakers some protection from police interference while traveling to and from Congress for official sessions. In the past, members have cited the Speech or Debate Clause to get through traffic disruptions. Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia once identified himself to an officer during a road closure and was allowed to continue to the Capitol for a House session.
Other lawmakers also reported being caught in traffic during the Hegseth vote, including Reps. Jonathan Jackson of Illinois and Laura Gillen of New York. Rep. Lou Correa of California was away for a medical procedure, Rep. Steve Horsford of Nevada had a personal emergency, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in California.
Traffic disruptions continued Thursday morning, when the House voted on a veterans’ bill. The motion passed 271-135, with 26 members absent. A police lockdown after a deadly shooting and standoff in Washington had shut down major roads and slowed travel to the Capitol.
Rep. Eric Sorensen of Illinois made it to the floor for the vote. A former television meteorologist, he was asked about the day’s forecast as he left the Capitol. Sorensen slipped easily into his old role, predicting showers and cooler weather over the weekend.
He joked that he could not discuss the weather without moving his hands, then described a high-pressure system moving toward the region. Asked whether political conditions might also be improving for Democrats, he said the party was facing low pressure heading into the next Congress and needed to stay united.
Sorensen said his experience as a meteorologist had taught him how important clear communication is. Weather can be complicated, he said, and so can the work of Congress; lawmakers need to do a better job explaining what they do for the public.
For Democrats, the immediate obstacles have included both traffic and internal disagreements. Whether those disputes become more serious remains to be seen. In Washington, at least, getting to the Capitol can be difficult enough on its own.
