Trump ally, accused of an array of illegal acts, had earlier condemned impeachment push as ‘a farce and a stunt’

House Republicans on Tuesday blocked an effort to impeach Pete Hegseth, rejecting allegations that the defense secretary had repeatedly violated the constitution through his handling of the Iran war and other conflicts globally.

The vote came a week after Republicans lost control of the Senate and House of Representatives in their worst midterm election in more than a half century, and underscored how lawmakers remain wary of crossing Donald Trump, who has signaled his continued support for Hegseth.

Republicans pick Jordan as House leader and John Thune as Senate leader for last two years of Trump’s presidency

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Republicans have elected veteran congressman Jim Jordan as their new leader in the House of Representatives, putting a strident defender of Donald Trump at the helm of their conference as they navigate the fallout from sweeping losses in last week’s midterm elections.

Jordan will serve as minority leader under the new Congress that begins next year, where Democrats will have their largest margins in both the House and Senate in years. He will be responsible for shaping the party’s strategy against the waves of investigations Democrats have promised to open into Trump’s second administration, as well as their vows of an ambitious legislative agenda, regardless of whether it has the president’s support.

With weeks left on the congressional calendar, House and Senate representatives have a host of issues they still need to tackle

On their first day back in the Capitol after comprehensive defeats in last week’s midterm elections, Republicans were divided into two camps: those who saw the catastrophe coming, and those who did not.

“I told you exactly what was going to happen. Over and over and over, I told you,” said West Virginia senator Jim Justice. “I said really and truly, if you weren’t concerned and you were a Republican, you were living in a cave. That was my exact words.”