Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth survived impeachment in Congress because 11 Democrats were caught in traffic, CBS News reported after the vote Tuesday evening. With those 11 votes, Hegseth would have been impeached.
Axios reporter Andrew Solender reported on X, "Per several members: Some of the House Democrats who missed the Hegseth impeachment vote were on their way back from an Elect Democratic Women event at a venue about 1.5 miles down Pennsylvania Ave. but got caught in a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam on Independence Ave. (The road on the House side of the Capitol complex). Some members found other ways to get back to the Capitol because their cars were effectively stopped on the road."
As Solender explained, one Democrat got out of the car and walked to make it. Another went around the traffic and did a drop-off on the U.S. Senate side and got to the Capitol from there. The event was only 1.5 miles away.
Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) told Politico's Mark Satter the Democrats were “at an event and didn’t make it back in time."
He added that it “should have never happened, but that's the way it played out."
Two members posted that they added their vote after the fact.
Progressives online are furious.
"BS excuse. They went to the event knowing full well they had a duty to be back on time for the impeachment vote, and they failed to show up on time. That is unprofessional. Stop the bulls—— excuses for these grown-up folks," complained Adua Sam.
Another noted that if Republicans can roll in "half-dead [Mitch] McConnell," these members can walk a mile to the building to cast their vote.
Andrew Noh, Rep. Marilyn Strickland’s (D-Wash.) chief of staff, said, “The congresswoman was stuck behind a motorcade and missed the vote by one minute. She would have voted against the motion to refer.” She was among those members who entered her vote for the record but it was late.
"For two days everyone knew the vote was at 5:30pm and that Republicans would use every tool they had in their toolbox to table the impeachment with a committee referral vote. Shame on you," one woman told Strickland. "The stakes are too big. You should have been in the chamber an hour early to vote, not an hour late due to 'traffic.' Did you go to the Merrick Garland School of Driving?"
Some Democrats are now complaining that the Republicans should have kept the vote open longer.
"Try that one with your boss," said the Jack Hopkins Show host. "Or your customers. Winners leave early. Losers explain late. You knew the vote was coming. Show up or step aside."
Some critics questioned if the hold up was the result of dirty tricks.
There is a historic example of politicians using traffic jams to their advantage, most notably Gov. Chris Christie's (R-N.J.) "Bridgegate" scandal.
In 2004, Wisconsin Democratic campaign workers slashed tires on vehicles Republicans had rented to transport voters and poll monitors. The Chicago Tribune reported that 25 cars and vans were disabled, delaying the transportation operation. The four staffers pleaded no contest.
In Brazil on Election Day 2022, federal highway police stopped vehicles and buses carrying voters, particularly in the northeast, where Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had strong support against incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. The electoral court ordered the operations to stop.
There was even an episode of "The West Wing" in which President Jeb Bartlett's staff sent the presidential motorcade through New York City traffic, causing additional jams. It left his Republican opponent embarrassingly late for a major event benefiting Catholic Charities.
