Defense secretary Pete Hegseth and members of his team were reprimanded by a US sentinel at Arlington national cemetery after the Veterans Day commemoration that Donald Trumped attended on 11 November Continue reading...
Page A235From§Eachthe morning edition — 12 November 2026
Eleven Democrats skip Hegseth impeachment vote that failed by seven votes.
As it ran on the front
I had the renewal notice for my car on the seat beside me this morning, the registration one, the kind with a box at the bottom somebody drew around in red so you can't pretend you didn't see the date. Thirty-one days left on this one. I only mention it because a deadline sitting on your dashboard changes how you read everything else that comes across your windshield for the rest of the day, and what came across mine today was a vote.
Let me go in order, the way I was taught. Back in September — the 15th, it's in The Guardian — a Kentucky congressman named Thomas Massie filed eight articles of impeachment against the Secretary of Defense, saying he'd sent the country into a war with Iran that Congress never voted on. In October — the 22nd, Common Dreams has it — the Secretary's own staff broke a thirty-inch globe that belonged to General Eisenhower, because the Secretary wanted it moved into his office and somebody didn't move it right. One week after that, October 29th, the Washington Examiner reported the Secretary fired the one general on the Joint Staff whose job was long-range war planning. I wrote that part down on the back of this same notice, there wasn't anything else in the car.…
…(cont) So that's the warm-up. Here's today.
Yesterday, the 11th, a soldier standing guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier had to raise his voice at the Secretary of Defense and the people with him. They'd been laughing on the steps after the Veterans Day ceremony. The sentinel told them, on camera — this is the exact line, I checked it against three different papers because I didn't believe it the first time — to maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times. The Secretary looked back over his shoulder and kept walking.
Today, the vote on those eight articles came back 211 to 204. The Secretary keeps the job by seven. Eleven Democrats weren't on the floor for that vote. Eleven. I want you to sit with that number a second, because I know what eleven people can move — I've done it on Route 9 with two neighbors, a jumper cable, and a dog on a leash getting underfoot, and let me tell you, it takes three of us straining just to get a dead Buick up out of the intersection. Eleven is enough to push a delivery truck off the tracks. One of the eleven, a congresswoman from New Mexico, told reporters afterward she'd been stuck in traffic. I believe her. I sat behind a tanker on 9 for forty minutes last Thursday and missed my own dentist. I'm only asking you to hold the two numbers next to each other: seven, and eleven.
A soldier had standing enough to quiet a Cabinet secretary at a grave. Did the House have the votes to make him answer for the war, or did it have eleven more than that sitting somewhere else?
Oh — hang on, before you head out. The notice on my seat says thirty-one days, a plain date, the kind you can actually miss. The war itself doesn't have one of those — nobody's taken a vote on it since Mr. Massie's articles went in back in September, and nobody's taking one on it now that today's vote failed either. So which is the bigger number here: seven, or eleven?
“Eleven people who could have ended this didn't bother to show up, and one of them blamed traffic. The same week a private had to tell the Secretary of Defense to pipe down at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Congress couldn't find eleven extra bodies for the one vote that actually meant something. That's the whole racket — they don't need to win the vote, they just need enough of their own side to stay home.”
“Firing a general over a leak is standard Pentagon housekeeping, and Massie forcing a vote over a war the Commander-in-Chief already ordered is one member grandstanding — good on House Republicans for ending it, 211 to 204. As for Arlington, sentinels remind visitors to pipe down all the time, totally routine. Routine doesn't usually mean the Secretary of Defense personally, on camera, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier — okay, yeah, I hear it.”
Earlier in this story
- Hegseth's answer to a party readying his impeachment vote next week is still the same video. By Chip · the afternoon edition, 6 November 2026
- Accused of being a war criminal, Hegseth defends the Iran war instead and vows to stay By Chip · the morning edition, 6 November 2026
- Hegseth declares his impeachment dead on arrival, days after Democrats won the House majority that could revive it. By The Wrecking Crew · the afternoon edition, 5 November 2026
- Two months after a senator asked Trump to fire Hegseth over "inept management" of the military, Hegseth fired the Pentagon's top military planner. By Sterling · the evening edition, 1 November 2026
The receipts
Group attending Veterans Day ceremony sharply reminded by sentinel to maintain ‘silence and respect’ at sacred site A US army sentinel guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier loudly reprimanded the embattled US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and his top staffers on Wednesday, after some in the group were heard laughing and talking…
A guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier reprimanded a group of people that included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for making noise at the site.
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Republican Thomas Massie moves to force vote to impeach Pete HegsethUS representative accuses defense secretary of illegally waging war without congressional authorization and abusing his powers A Republican lawmaker has moved to force a vote to impeach Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, setting the stage for a showdown over one of the most divisive figures inside Donald Trump’s administration.…
In a 211-204 vote, House Republicans successfully blocked Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-Ky.) impeachment effort on Tuesday, and Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) was one of 11 Democrats who missed the vote.
The guard told the defence secretary and his companions to maintain an atmosphere of "silence and respect" during a Veterans Day visit.
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Pete Hegseth and staff reprimanded by guard at Tomb of the Unknown SoldierVideo shows the US defense secretary taking photos on the empty steps with a group in front of the tomb at Arlington National Cemetery. As the group broke from taking photos, a loud laugh could be heard.
President Trump traveled to Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday, laying a wreath in honor of fallen U.S. soldiers. But the cameras also captured a U.S.
Republican US Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky said Wednesday that Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth, the most prominent cheerleader and architect of the Trump administration's illegal war on Iran, will face an impeachment vote in the House of Representatives—unless he submits his resignation first. "There is one contingency in which I won’t…
A soldier guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier issued a verbal reprimand to a group of advisers and staff members with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth following a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
Eleven Democrats were absent, helping Republicans shelve the charges against the defense secretary. It drew sharp criticism a week after the party’s sweeping election victories.
A Pentagon spokesman said the sentinel had “reminded everyone to maintain decorum” after laughter was heard from a group visiting the burial site with the Defense Secretary on Wednesday.
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Hakeem Jeffries supports impeachment of Pete Hegseth: ‘He has got to go’House Democrat is a ‘hard yes’ on impeachment resolution against defense secretary who ‘has abused his power’ House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, poised to become majority leader, said on Sunday that he strongly supports impeaching defense secretary Pete Hegseth as a Republican lawmaker prepares to force a House vote. The top Democrat…
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· 'A Perfect Metaphor': Hegseth Staffers Broke Historic Globe After Pentagon Chief Demanded It for His Office from the morgue, 22 Oct 2026
· Hegseth dismisses top military strategist from Joint Chiefs as Trump contemplates further Iran strikes from the morgue, 29 Oct 2026
· Hegseth fires Pentagon's top military planner over alleged leaks from the morgue, 29 Oct 2026
· Hegseth fires top general over apparent media leaks from the morgue, 29 Oct 2026
· Hegseth fires top Pentagon strategist accused of leaking classified Iran, Ukraine war information from the morgue, 29 Oct 2026
· Hegseth fires top Pentagon strategist amid Iran planning who allegedly failed polygraph tests from the morgue, 29 Oct 2026
· Hegseth on "devastation" to Iran's capabilities from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026
· Pentagon erupts over classified leak of Iran war dissent from the morgue, 31 Aug 2026
· Tillis urges Trump to fire Hegseth over 'inept management' of military from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· Hegseth fires top Pentagon war planner Brett Sylvia in latest military shake-up from the morgue, 29 Oct 2026
· A top general pushed out at Pentagon's Joint Staff from the morgue, 29 Oct 2026
· Hegseth ousted top military strategist from Pentagon, sources say from the morgue, 29 Oct 2026
· Army Secretary Driscoll resigns after months-long turf war with Hegseth from the morgue, 31 Aug 2026
· Hegseth to cut 20 percent of admirals, generals in major Pentagon overhaul from the morgue, 29 Sep 2026
· Former Air Force secretary: Hegseth's Pentagon 'dysfunctional' from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· Trump announces Nidal Hasan execution 'will not be streamed' from the morgue, 15 Oct 2026
· Nidal Hasan’s Public Execution Is Off, But Propagandists Are Still Using Him as a Martyr from the morgue, 15 Oct 2026
· For some Christians, Hegseth's plan for public execution fits a biblical mandate from the morgue, 15 Oct 2026
· Retired US generals call on Pentagon to cancel 'barbaric' execution livestream from the morgue, 15 Oct 2026
· Majority of Americans oppose public executions: poll from the morgue, 15 Oct 2026
· UN Says Trump-Hegseth Livestream of Execution Would Breach ‘Absolute Prohibition of Torture’ from the morgue, 9 Oct 2026
· Pentagon vows to livestream first military execution in decades from the morgue, 9 Oct 2026
· Republican opposition grows to livestreaming execution of Fort Hood shooter from the morgue, 9 Oct 2026
· Voters in Key States See AI Campaign Cash as More Politically Toxic Than AIPAC: Poll from the morgue, 8 Oct 2026
· White House confirms appeal as Trump-appointed judge extends ruling restoring CNN, MS NOW, Politico access from the morgue, 14 Oct 2026
· Trump White House Restores Access to Politico, MS NOW, CNN Reporters Hours After Judge's Order from the morgue, 24 Sep 2026
· Federal judge extends order halting White House press ban while considering long-term ruling from the morgue, 8 Oct 2026
· Judge orders White House to temporarily restore media access for blocked outlets from the morgue, 24 Sep 2026
· Federal judge grants preliminary injunction continuing to block Trump's media ban from the morgue, 14 Oct 2026
· White House again blocks CNN from press pool as Trump rages against media in wide-ranging interview – live from the morgue, 1 Oct 2026
· Trump made ‘clear’ that media ban was due to critical coverage, lawyer tells judge from the morgue, 8 Oct 2026
· Federal Judge Again Blocks Trump’s Ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the morgue, 14 Oct 2026
· Judge blocks Trump's White House ban targeting CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the morgue, 14 Oct 2026
· Judge extends White House access to banned media outlets CNN, MS Now and Politico from the morgue, 14 Oct 2026
· Sunday Shows Preview: Trump bans 3 media outlets from White House; Parties make final cases as midterms approach from the morgue, 19 Sep 2026
· Report: Trump Is Having Second Thoughts About Livestreaming Military Execution from the morgue, 13 Oct 2026
· Daughter of Fort Hood victim slams Hegseth’s plan to livestream terrorist’s execution: ‘Nothing to do with justice’ from the morgue, 13 Oct 2026
· ‘Medieval’ and ‘rather disturbing’: US plan to livestream execution elicits global condemnation from the morgue, 9 Oct 2026
· Fort Hood massacre survivor weighs in on possible Hasan execution livestream from the morgue, 13 Oct 2026
· Mike Johnson urges Trump to rethink livestreaming Nidal Hasan execution: ‘I wouldn’t be watching’ from the morgue, 13 Oct 2026
· Christa Pike discharged from hospital, returned to prison after botched execution, attorneys say from the morgue, 10 Oct 2026
· Convicted murderer Christa Pike leaves hospital, returns to prison after botched execution from the morgue, 10 Oct 2026
· Christa Pike out of hospital and back in prison after botched execution attempt from the morgue, 10 Oct 2026
· Christa Pike out of hospital and recovering in prison after botched Tennessee execution from the morgue, 10 Oct 2026
· Christa Pike discharged from hospital and returned to prison, her lawyers say from the morgue, 10 Oct 2026
· Christa Pike moved back to prison after failed execution from the morgue, 10 Oct 2026
· Outgoing prison chief in Christa Pike case oversaw five ‘botched’ executions, lawyers say from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026
· Judge orders officials to preserve all evidence tied to Christa Pike’s botched execution from the morgue, 7 Oct 2026
· Christa Pike’s lawyer says request to unshackle her was denied as he confirms she is speaking ‘limitedly’ – live from the morgue, 7 Oct 2026
· Christa Pike left in ‘critical condition’ as Tennessee halts all executions from the morgue, 2 Oct 2026
· Tennessee suspends executions as Christa Pike’s lawyer says failed lethal injection leaves her in critical condition from the morgue, 2 Oct 2026
· Tennessee Corrections commissioner resigns days after failed Christa Pike execution from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026
· Tennessee Prison Chief Was Hired Despite a Trail of Troubled Executions from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026
· Pike's botched execution renews death penalty scrutiny from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026
· After failed execution, health workers say Tennessee's method flouts medical ethics from the morgue, 30 Sep 2026
· Supreme Court Allows Execution of Christa Pike, Tennessee’s Lone Woman on Death Row from the morgue, 30 Sep 2026
· Federal court halts Christa Pike's execution from the morgue, 30 Sep 2026
· White House defends media outlet bans, now citing 'professionalism' standards from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026
· Vance defends White House media ban: ‘Politico is as anti-Trump as Breitbart was anti-Obama or anti-Biden’ from the morgue, 21 Sep 2026
· Vance defends Trump's media ban as 'totally appropriate' from the morgue, 21 Sep 2026
· Bill Clinton: 'There were lots of times when I wanted to ban the White House press corps' from the morgue, 25 Sep 2026
· Tennessee prison chief to resign after Christa Pike's failed execution, governor says from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026
· Tennessee’s prisons chief resigns after failed Pike execution, governor says from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026
· Federal Appellate Court Halts Tennessee's Planned Execution of Christa Pike from the morgue, 30 Sep 2026
· Supreme Court declines Christa Pike's clemency appeal, with Tennessee set to execute first woman in 200 years from the morgue, 29 Sep 2026
· Supreme Court allows execution of Christa Pike to go forward from the morgue, 30 Sep 2026
· Tennessee court makes last minute move to temporarily halt Christa Pike's execution from the morgue, 30 Sep 2026
· DOJ petitions judge to reinstate White House ban on CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026
· CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters regain entry to White House from the morgue, 24 Sep 2026
· Tennessee prison system head to resign after failed Christa Pike execution from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026
· Tennessee Prison Commissioner Resigns Days After Failed Execution from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026
· Tennessee prison chief resigns after Christa Pike’s botched execution from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026
· Prison chief resigns after failed execution attempt in US from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026
· Christa Pike’s Tennessee execution halted by court an hour before it was scheduled from the morgue, 30 Sep 2026
· Christa Pike thought her arm would ‘burst open’ during botched Tennessee execution: court docs from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026
· Death row inmate unconscious on ventilator after botched execution for teen’s killing: attorneys from the morgue, 2 Oct 2026
· Christa Pike remains unconscious and on ventilator after failed execution in Tennessee from the morgue, 2 Oct 2026
· Christa Pike unconscious and intubated after failed execution, lawyers say from the morgue, 2 Oct 2026
· Christa Pike Was Unconscious and on Ventilator After Execution Attempt from the morgue, 2 Oct 2026
· Christa Pike Hospitalized in Critical Condition After Botched Execution from the morgue, 2 Oct 2026
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.