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By Alia Shoaib
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Top Democrat Hakeem Jeffries’ leadership has come under fresh scrutiny after efforts to advance impeachment articles against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth failed on Tuesday, with 11 Democrats absent for a key vote.
A motion to refer Republican Representative Thomas Massie’s impeachment articles against Hegseth to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee passed 211-204, effectively halting the impeachment effort. If the missing Democrats had attended and voted along party lines, the motion would have failed.
As House minority leader, Jeffries is responsible for coordinating his party’s voting strategy and maintaining unity among Democratic lawmakers.
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He is widely expected to become House speaker following Democrats' sweeping midterm victory, and is currently the only formally declared candidate. However, the failed Hegseth vote has added fuel to ongoing conversations about whether he is the right person to lead the party.
Newsweek contacted Jeffries via contact form on his website on Wednesday, outside of regular working hours.
Hegseth Impeachment Vote
Jeffries previously told ABC News he was a “hard yes” on the Hegseth impeachment effort. He said that the Democratic caucus would discuss it on Tuesday, but that he believed there would be “incredibly strong support” for it.
When later asked about the Democrats who missed the vote, Jeffries told reporters he had not spoken with members of the party's floor team about what had happened, but said "this is not the end of it. It's just the beginning," per Politico reporter Riley Rogerson.
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Several Democrats and political commentators have questioned whether Jeffries did enough to ensure his party was present for the Hegseth vote.
“This was a failure of Democratic leadership. We cannot have Hakeem Jeffries fumble the ball when the new Dem majority gets sworn in. There's too much at stake,” Democratic political adviser Saikat Chakrabarti wrote on X.
“Hakeem Jeffries, who is in line to be Speaker, said he was a hard yes on impeaching Hegseth, and yet couldn't whip his own caucus?” Democratic strategist and commentator Justin Snyder wrote on X.
“This is a major Hakeem Jeffries fail. You could have impeached the war criminal Pete Hegseth but Dems didn't show up to vote,” X commentator Krystal Ball wrote.
Cenk Uygur, a progressive political commentator, wrote on X that “Hegseth won't be impeached because 11 Democrats didn't show up,” describing Jeffries as an “incompetent leader” and accusing him of being influenced by AIPAC donors.
Jeffries’ Future in Question
Some progressive Democrats and activists have opposed Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer taking leadership positions in the new Congress, arguing that the party needs a change in direction.
Criticism of Jeffries has focused in part on his support for Israel and his ties to AIPAC, as well as concerns that Democratic leaders have not been forceful enough in opposing President Donald Trump.
But some prominent progressives have expressed support for Jeffries, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
On Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez said: “There is one candidate in this race, Hakeem Jeffries,” adding that the focus should be on what his leadership would promise and deliver.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick and Emma Lee-Sang
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