Dem rep blames 'horrific' traffic for missing Hegseth impeachment vote: 'I am so sorry'

Rep.Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., apologized in a social media video Wednesday for missing a key House vote on an effort to impeach War Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying she encountered heavy traffic and a police motorcade while trying to reach the Capitol."Let me start by saying, I am so sorry," Stansbury said in the video posted Wednesday.

"There is no one who is more disappointed in myself than me, that I was not here the moment that gavel dropped."The House voted 211-204 Tuesday to refer the impeachment resolution introduced by Rep.Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to the Judiciary Committee, effectively blocking the effort.

Stansbury was among 11 Democrats who missed the vote, along with seven Republicans.HOUSE GOP LEADERS BLOCK MASSIE'S HEGSETH IMPEACHMENT PUSHRep.Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., arrives for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee deposition of former Attorney General Pam Bondi about the Jeffrey Epstein files, in the Rayburn House Office Building on Friday, May 29, 2026.

(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.via Getty Images)Stansbury said she was driving toward the Capitol ahead of the vote when she encountered "horrific" rush-hour traffic on Independence Avenue, where a lane closure had contributed to congestion."As the vote was approaching, I ran back to my car," Stansbury said.

"I got in my car, and I began driving towards the Capitol and as I approached the Capitol, it was rush hour on Independence Avenue.They closed one of the lanes.

I was stuck in the right-hand lane."The congresswoman said she could see the Capitol from her vehicle and instructed her staff to notify House officials that she was delayed.A police motorcade escorting a bus away from the Capitol complex then blocked traffic in both directions, she said."I should have been there sooner," Stansbury acknowledged.

"I understand that it is my responsibility, and I am sincerely sorry, but there were definitely factors that were out of my control."DEMOCRATS RALLY BEHIND GOP LAWMAKER'S HEGSET...