Rep. Gillen misses Hegseth impeachment vote due to D.C. roadblock

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Nov 11, 2026

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Rep. Laura Gillen says she missed the vote to impeach controversial Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth because she was stuck in traffic due to a police roadblock near the Capitol.

Like at least two other Democrats, the Long Island lawmaker says she planned to vote in favor of moving ahead with impeachment of Hegseth and will do so if and when the measure is brought up again in the House of Representatives.

“I was stuck behind the same police escort blocking the Capitol when Republicans closed the vote. I would have voted no and believe strongly that Pete Hegseth should be impeached,” Gillen tweeted.

Eleven Democrats, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, missed the vote on a procedural measure to start debate on the impeachment of Hegseth, allowing Republicans to defeat it for now. The final vote was 211-204, with a handful of GOP lawmakers also AWOL.

The snafu means Hegseth will not immediately face a final impeachment vote in the House and a possible trial in the Senate.

President Donald Trump gleefully celebrated the win, noting that Republicans almost unanimously opposed the push by outgoing GOP Rep. Tom Massie, R-Kentucky, to oust Hegseth.

Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, criticized her Democratic colleagues who missed the vote, saying anyone who was not suffering from medical issues should have figured out a way to get to the Capitol on time to vote.

“The people send us here to do a job,”AOC told CNN shortly after the vote failed. “We’ve got to clock in and do our work here.”

Ron Filipkowski, editor of the progressive MeidasTouch news site, torched the Democrats for failing to show up on time.

“Stuck in traffic is unacceptable,” he tweeted. “The old excuses that worked in the past will not work now.”

Presumptive incoming House Speaker Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said he would investigate the reasons for the botched vote and seek to bring the measure up again.

Republicans still narrowly control both houses of Congress until January even though they suffered sweeping losses in last week’s midterms, giving GOP leaders wide power on what measures come up for votes.

Democrats could jumpstart the push to oust Hegseth in January when they will have sizeable majorities in both chambers. It takes a majority vote in the House to impeach a Cabinet member, followed by a Senate trial which would require a two-thirds vote, a hurdle that would be very difficult to achieve.

Massie’s resolution included eight counts of impeachment. It largely focused on the war in Iran but also included references to Hegseth’s role in carrying out military actions in Yemen and Venezuela.

Massie, who lost his primary to a Trump-backed opponent, says Hegseth has “knowingly executed and implemented unlawful orders.”

Hegseth rejected the charges, calling the impeachment effort “sabotage” and “a farce.”

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