Midterms Gave Dems a Blue Wave. It Was Stopped by a Traffic Jam

Democrats, already fretful as Hakeem Jeffries prepares to wield the Speaker’s Gavel in the House of Representatives, received little reassurance after he failed his latest leadership test. And it was a pretty easy test: His caucus just needed to wrangle the necessary votes to proceed with articles of impeachment against one Whiskey Pete Hegseth. But no, the bill fell 211-204. The only Republican who voted for the measure was the one who introduced it, Thomas Massie.

Eleven Democrats did not vote at all.

Of those, ten had previously expressed support for Hegseth’s removal, while one, Michigan’s Haley Stevens, apparently spent her time back on Capitol Hill hanging out in the Republican cloakroom with her hat. I don’t know what goes in that room, but I’m guessing the only cloaking being done was to hide Stevens’ shame.

Had the other ten (or even eight) Democrats voted in support, ol’ Pete would be facing a very public airing of his alleged high crimes and misdemeanors, not the least of which is, you know, murdering people on the open seas. And bombing a girls’ school—three times.

So what happened? Why did so many Dems miss their chance to hold a senior Trump official to account? Would you believe… traffic?

Because gridlock is the excuse given out by several missing members: New Mexico Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury complained that she got stuck behind “a police escort of a bus,” causing her to miss the vote by one minute. Three other Dems also blamed traffic for their absence although, somehow, the Republicans still managed to get enough of their people onto the floor before Speaker Mike Johnson gaveled the voting to a close. Are Republicans simply better at navigating Washington’s roadways?

Some of the tardy Dems were, apparently, at an event celebrating women being elected to Congress, which is particularly ironic given their opportunity to account a man famously adverse to women in the workplace. Maybe they waited too long for the last round of crispy Brussels sprouts ($75 for a platter that serves 10) to come out before getting in their cars for the vote? It’s unacceptable.

Am I suggesting it’s Hakeem Jeffries’ fault that folks got caught in traffic? Yes. That’s exactly what I’m suggesting. Get your people to the church on time, as the saying goes. The current Speaker didn’t seem to have any trouble filling his pews–so why did Jeffries?

(In a piece from The Washington Sun which featured a number of anonymous Dems criticizing their leadership, it was reported that Jeffries did not whip for the vote.)

While pundits attempt to interpret the runes cast on Election Day, one conclusion is obvious: Americans voted, at minimum, to end corruption and to demand accountability from those who have abused their positions and the public trust. Booting the world’s worst axe-thrower from the Pentagon seems like the easiest first step imaginable. And yet Jeffries couldn’t manage it. Presented with a giant target at point-blank range, Jeffries missed his shot just as assuredly as Hegseth missed his own cues on that long-ago day on Fox & Friends.

“The Democrats’ attempt to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has miserably FAILED!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, following the vote. At a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington, Trump shouted out his Secretary of Sauce, commending Hegseth for the “fantastic job” he’s doing. “He’s all about you,” said the president to veterans before him.

Not so, according to his former spokesman John Ullyot, who told CNN’s Erin Burnett that Hegseth is somebody who “makes it about himself, not the troops.” Then again, perhaps the president wants to keep Pete around because Hegseth’s approval rating is lower even than Trump’s. In that same interview, Ullyot predicts that Hegseth will, eventually, be impeached.

Some of those who missed the vote have since shared their apologies, promising there’ll be more moves to come for Hegseth in the future. But that shouldn’t even be needed.

As it is, the only thing lost was Jeffries’ already shaky credibility. Whatever the actual reason for the failure, the result is that Americans hoping for decisive action against this corrupt administration were left disappointed by a Democratic caucus missing an opportunity to lead them out of our morass. Yes, this current Congress isn’t the Congress that will take their seats in January, but Jeffries still had the votes.

He had the votes!

So Pete keeps his job for at least a couple more months. Which means the rest of us will be treated to even more footage of flag socks and half-assed pull-ups. Huzzah.

The American military is a fearsome thing. That Trump entrusted it to the care of an alleged sexual assailant with an alleged drinking problem. It deserves better than a man fired from not one but two veterans’ organizations he was hired to lead. A man whose own mother questioned his decency, calling him an “abuser of women” in a 2018 email. A man reported as a potential “insider threat” by a fellow Guardsman in 2021. A man who, according to reporting from this week, has fired dozens of high-ranking officers for “offenses” ranging from sporting a rainbow pin to encouraging soldiers to get vaccinated during a global pandemic. That’s the guy whose job Hakeem Jeffries just saved.

Obviously, Pete must go. That’s not a question. The question that this week’s embarrassing House vote raises is whether Jeffries should follow him out the door.

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