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Today’s top stories

The House has effectively killed Republican Rep. Thomas Massie’s effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The chamber voted 211 to 204 to send the impeachment articles back to the House Judiciary Committee for review. The move circumvents any potential floor vote on the impeachment and virtually ensures it won’t be addressed before the current Congress session ends. Massie had reintroduced the impeachment articles on Monday, accusing Hegseth of high crimes related to the war with Iran and U.S. strikes against drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

• 🎧 NPR’s Eric McDaniel describes yesterday’s vote to Up First as a game of attendance. There were enough Democrats in Washington to pass the impeachment resolution, but not enough were on the floor to vote, so Republicans had the simple majority. McDaniel spoke to Warren Davidson, a GOP congressman from Ohio, the day before the vote. Davidson said he thinks the war in Iran is unconstitutional, but argued that Hegseth was just a scapegoat for the “status quo politics in Washington.”
• ➡️ The GOP had a lot on their agenda yesterday. The Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee released a report on its investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associates. The report concluded that the federal government mishandled criminal investigations into the disgraced financier and failed survivors.

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio will be the new minority leader of the House. House Republicans voted yesterday to replace Speaker Mike Johnson, who is stepping down after last week’s midterm losses. At 62, Jordan brings experience from the House Oversight and Judiciary committees. The two panels are poised to play a central role in the new Congress as Democrats plan investigations into President Trump and his administration.

• 🎧 NPR’s Barbara Sprunt says she viewed the election as a choice between continuity and change, and Jordan clearly represented change. Jordan’s selection, along with Stephen Miller’s appointment as the president’s new chief of staff, highlights a shift towards a combative political approach, Sprunt says. Democratic leadership elections are expected to happen next week and are likely to keep current leaders Hakeem Jeffries in the House and Chuck Schumer in the Senate in place.

U.S. federal prosecutors have indicted three men accused of being Iran-backed operatives allegedly involved in nearly 20 terrorist attacks and attempted attacks in Europe and the U.S. The charges include a plot in September against a British air base where American forces were stationed. The Justice Department says some of these attacks were directed live via FaceTime from Iraq.