Rep. Melanie Stansbury appeared close to tears Wednesday while apologizing for missing a key House vote on an impeachment resolution targeting War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The New Mexico Democrat blamed Washington rush hour traffic for keeping her from reaching the Capitol before the vote began, as reported by The New York Post.

Stansbury was one of 11 Democrats who missed the vote Tuesday. House Republicans blocked Republican Rep. Thomas Massie’s impeachment effort by a 211 to 204 vote.

“Let me start by saying, I am so sorry,” Stansbury said in a video recorded outside the Capitol Building and posted on social media. Her apology quickly turned into an explanation of how she failed to arrive before the gavel fell.

“There is no one who is more disappointed in myself than me, that I was not here the moment that gavel dropped,” she said. The congresswoman acknowledged that reaching the chamber on time was her responsibility.

At the same time, Stansbury suggested her absence did not alter the ultimate outcome because supporters lacked the votes needed to advance the impeachment effort. She also pointed to the requirements for conviction in the Senate.

“While I know that it is my responsibility to be here, I know that I should have been there … We did not have the numbers to move forward to impeach Pete Hegseth at this moment,” Stansbury said. “Not to mention, in the Senate, where he would have to have a trial and be convicted with a two-thirds vote.”

The impeachment vote had long been scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Stansbury said she was away from the Capitol as the vote approached, although she did not explain where she had been before running back to her car.

“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.”

Stansbury said the Capitol was visible from her vehicle while she remained trapped in the traffic jam. She instructed her staff to contact the House floor and alert officials to the congestion outside.

The Democrat said other lawmakers were caught in the same traffic. According to her account, the situation became worse when a police motorcade escorted a bus away from the Capitol campus and stopped vehicles traveling in both directions.

“There were other members who were stuck in it, and just at that moment, as I was approaching the Capitol, there was a police motorcade that escorted a bus off of campus and blocked traffic in both directions,” Stansbury said. She then conceded, “I should have been there sooner.”

Stansbury continued balancing her apology with a defense of the circumstances that delayed her arrival. “I understand that it is my responsibility, and I am sincerely sorry, but there were definitely factors that were out of my control,” she said.

I am genuinely and sincerely sorry. But, this is not the end—it is just the beginning. https://t.co/Exc23k5qLE

— Rep. Melanie Stansbury (@Rep_Stansbury) November 11, 2026

She was not the only Democrat who blamed traffic for missing the vote. Reps. Marilyn Strickland of Washington, John Jackson of Illinois, Brittany Pettersen of Colorado and Laura Gillen of New York also appeared to have been caught in the same gridlock.

Stansbury and several other Democrats were attending an Elect Democratic Women PAC reception at a nearby restaurant at the time of the Hegseth impeachment vote, according to Axios. The report placed the reception near the Capitol while lawmakers were being summoned for the scheduled vote.

Axios also reported that at least one lawmaker responded to the traffic jam by leaving a vehicle and walking to the Capitol. Stansbury instead described watching the Capitol from her car while her staff contacted the floor.

Her video presented a tearful apology, an acknowledgment of personal responsibility, and a lengthy account of blocked lanes, rush hour traffic, and a police motorcade. The vote proceeded without her, and Republicans successfully blocked Massie’s impeachment effort.

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