By Phil Stewart and Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Republicans in the US House of Representatives blocked an effort on Tuesday to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, winning a reprieve for the polarizing Pentagon chief before Democrats take control of Congress next year and possibly try again.
The vote on a procedural motion came just hours after Hegseth blasted efforts to impeach him as a farce and delivered a defiant defense of his record at the helm of the US military, winning
praise from President Donald Trump.
The chamber voted 211 to 204 in favor of a motion to refer eight articles of impeachment to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, a move that the sponsor of the impeachment push, US Representative Thomas Massie, warned would kill it.
Massie, an outgoing Kentucky Republican, had hoped to draw votes from Republicans upset with Hegseth's policies and wary of the unpopularity of the Iran war but no other Republicans joined him. Democrats had voiced strong support for the impeachment effort but 11 failed to show up to vote.
Trump cheered the vote in a social media post, saying the effort to impeach Hegseth "has miserably FAILED!"
In a sign that the impeachment episode may have drawn Trump and Hegseth closer together, Trump added that Hegseth's performance on Iran, Venezuela and other issues "led to the EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot."
Hegseth would have been the first US defense secretary to be impeached. The last time any civilian leader of the US military was impeached was in 1876, when William Belknap held the title "secretary of war."
Hegseth calls himself secretary of war, part of his effort to rebrand a military he said was too weak and "woke" when he took office last year. Trump cannot change the name of the Defense Department without approval from Congress.
IRAN WAR ANGER
Voter anger over the Iran war, which has settled into an effective stalemate focused on securing the Strait of Hormuz, helped Democrats win control of Congress in last week's midterm elections.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries took aim at Hegseth ahead of the vote, saying on Monday: "Pete Hegseth has abused his power, undermined America's national security, and he's the architect of the reckless and costly failed war of choice in Iran."
But Hegseth repeatedly defended the conflict, calling Trump courageous and saying Iran's military has been left in ruins. He also said his orders to US forces were lawful, despite Massie's accusations of "high crimes and misdemeanors" ranging from the war itself to the US military raid in January to depose Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
"History will judge the Iran war quite differently than the conventional wisdom right now," he said.
Massie said he was disappointed by the vote, comparing Republicans to passengers content to go down with the Titanic.
"They know it's a sinking ship but committed to stay on board," he said.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom, Doina Chiacu and Katharine Jackson; Editing by Don Durfee, Nick Zieminski, Howard Goller and Sanjeev Miglani)
