An effort to impeach US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth for waging war on Iran without congressional authorisation has failed on Capitol Hill.
A majority of the House of Representatives agreed to refer impeachment articles to a committee - essentially killing the effort introduced by dissident Republican congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky - for now.
Earlier in the day, in his first news brieifing from the Pentagon in six months, Hegseth called the impeachment effort a "farce" and "sabotage".
The impeachment effort was seen as a long shot as it would have required a number of other Republicans to defy President Donald Trump.
Massie was the only Republican to vote against moving the resolution to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
His effort failed in a 211-204 vote, with more than a dozen members, including 11 Democrats, missing the vote.
The move to send the measure to the panel effectively kills the effort.
President Trump called Massie "a major LOSER" in a post on Truth Social, celebrating the measure's defeat.
"Again, Victories in Venezuela and Iran, the Best Recruitment Numbers in the History of the Military (Long waiting lists to get in!), and Spirit like rarely seen before, led to the EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot," Trump said, referring to Hegseth.
