Eleven House Democrats did not vote on Tuesday night when Republicans moved to bury Thomas Massie's eight articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth. The motion to send the articles to the Judiciary Committee passed 211 to 204, with every Democrat in the chamber and Massie voting against it. Had the eleven turned up and voted to impeach the likely war criminal, it would have passed.

Thomas Massie moved on Monday to force the vote, and Republican leaders spent the next day trying to head it off. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a California Democrat who did vote, said "we knew that this vote was coming, so people should have gotten their raggedy selves up these steps to vote." She called the absences "shameful".

Four of the eleven blame the traffic for their absence. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico said she "was blocked from entering the Capitol to vote due a traffic incident and a police escort of a bus during the vote", and that it had "gaveled out" by the time she reached the chamber. Laura Gillen of New York said the same escort held her up and that she "would have voted no and believe strongly that Pete Hegseth should be impeached." Jonathan Jackson of Illinois said "a traffic incident and a police-escorted bus caused a delay." Marilyn Strickland's chief of staff, Andrew Noh, said "the Congresswoman was stuck behind a motorcade and missed the vote by 1 minute."