CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday offered new details about the frantic behind-the-scenes campaign by the White House and House Republican leadership to shield Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from impeachment.

Hegseth was the target of an impeachment push led by lame-duck Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who formally reintroduced his effort in the House on Monday. On Tuesday evening, the chamber voted 211-204 to send the articles of impeachment against the defense secretary to committee, blocking an immediate floor vote that could have advanced the measure toward the Senate. The outcome likely spared Hegseth: 11 Democrats did not cast ballots, and Massie was the only Republican to vote with them against the referral. The arithmetic underscores how close the call was: the motion passed by just seven votes, fewer than the 11 absences, meaning the missing Democrats alone could have flipped the result had they been present and voted with their party.

On Tuesday's edition of The Source (transcript via CNN), Collins described the chaos inside the administration ahead of the vote.

"It certainly wasn't the outcome the White House was expecting tonight," she said, noting that House Republicans had "banded together and defeated that effort by one of their own."

"Sources say that both Republican leadership and White House officials were working furiously behind the scenes today to ensure that Congressman Thomas Massie's attempt to rebuke and potentially oust Secretary Pete Hegseth from the President's Cabinet wasn't successful," Collins added.

Her account tracks with reporting from The New York Times, which said Republican leadership feared that "attendance issues" among GOP members would "doom their chances to save Hegseth." In the end, the Pentagon chief was saved not by Republican unity alone but by absent Democrats.

President Donald Trump celebrated the result on Truth Social and mocked the failed impeachment attempt, writing:

"The Democrats' attempt to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has miserably FAILED! Every single Republican, except Thomas Massie, a major LOSER, voted in favor of Pete. Again, Victories in Venezuela and Iran, the Best Recruitment Numbers in the History of the Military (Long waiting lists to get in!), and Spirit like rarely seen before, led to the EXONERATION of a Great American Patriot. The Democrats continue to weaponize and abuse the United States of America. They must be stopped! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN."

Collins observed that the president made no mention of the unexpected assistance Democrats provided him.

"It was actually the absence of these 11 Democrats, including Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who might have helped save Secretary Hegseth from facing that vote on impeachment. Even if they did so unintentionally by just not showing up," she said.

According to White House sources cited by Collins, new chief of staff Stephen Miller, on only his second day in the job, reassured Hegseth "that they have his back" as the impeachment attempt unfolded. Miller, the architect of the administration's immigration agenda, is "personally close" to Hegseth, Collins reported — ties that help explain why the newly installed chief of staff played such a direct role in the rescue effort.

Trump has voiced support for Hegseth throughout the week, on social media and in comments to reporters. Collins cautioned, however, that "he does have a history of saying that only until he doesn't," pointing to Susie Wiles, who was abruptly fired after the president had publicly backed her.

Democrats could revive the impeachment effort after taking control of the chamber in January, when their larger membership would make it easier to advance the measure to the Senate floor. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries signaled as much after Tuesday's vote, saying: "This is not the end of it. It's just the beginning."

Collins also flagged Hegseth's first major press conference at the Pentagon since May, held Tuesday, which was dominated by the impeachment threat.

"It was almost solely focused on this effort to potentially impeach him, and his reasoning of why it shouldn't happen," she said. "I should note he only took questions from a prepared list of what appeared to be only conservative media outlets."

Source: Alternet