Hegseth Impeachment Vote Looms as Nvidia Slides on CEO Affair News

The U.S. House of Representatives will vote this week on a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The proposal, reintroduced by Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, lists eight charges of high crimes and misdemeanors. Three counts allege illegal war-making against Iran. Other charges include ignoring civilian casualty laws, overseeing extrajudicial killings of drug boats in the Caribbean, and capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro without congressional authorization. Hegseth has called the articles a sham.

Massie states that only a few Republican votes are needed to pass the motion in the House. A successful vote would move the case to the Senate, where 67 votes are required for removal. That threshold is difficult to reach, especially since Democrats will control the chamber. Massie told reporters that opposition to the Iran war in fellow Republicans' home states could persuade them to support the measure. He noted that some members believe the administration must answer for violating war powers.

In other legislative news, House Republicans are meeting in closed session to choose a minority leader for the next Congress. The decision is between Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio. President Trump acknowledged that the Iran conflict hurt his party's midterm performance. He indicated he would pause strikes weeks before the vote, then teased major moves to end the conflict. Trump now says diplomatic talks make further strikes unnecessary.

Financial markets reacted sharply to news from Nvidia. The stock fell 4.25% after CEO Jensen Huang admitted to an affair with a woman U.S. intelligence suspects of spying for China. AMD shares rose more than 13% in response. John Ruwitch of NPR noted that Nvidia is central to U.S.-China AI competition, making Huang's actions a priority for Beijing. The woman is an executive at MegaSpeed, a Singapore-based company that has worked with Nvidia. The New York Times reports the Commerce Department is investigating MegaSpeed, though NPR has not verified this.

The Supreme Court cleared the Trump administration to build hundreds of miles of border barriers in west Texas. The five-page decision ruled that the federal judge who blocked construction lacked authority. The ruling came despite hearings and bipartisan criticism over the impact on Big Bend National Park.

Democratic candidates secured a nearly 50-point lead among voters under 30 in the midterms. This marks a shift from 2024, when young voters favored Trump. Americans ages 18 to 29 cast 11% of the total vote this year. In the Texas Senate race, Democrat James Talarico won by 12 points overall, but his margin among Gen Z voters was 60 points. Democrats credit their candidate slate and broad opposition to Trump for the surge. The party gained ground from white and Latino men who previously supported Trump, and narrowed margins with young rural voters and those without college degrees.