Johnson sends House home early, shelving Hegseth impeachment vote until after midterms

Speaker Mike Johnson ended House votes Wednesday evening and sent members home a full day ahead of schedule, effectively killing — for now — a forced impeachment vote against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that had rattled Republican leaders and put vulnerable incumbents in an impossible position weeks before the midterm elections.

The House will not return to Washington until November 9, after the November 3 elections in which all 435 seats are up for grabs and Democrats are positioned to retake the majority, according to Just the News. The seven-week recess had already been planned; Johnson simply moved it up by one day — but that single day was enough to extinguish the legislative clock that Rep. Thomas Massie had set ticking.

Massie, a Kentucky Republican who lost his primary this summer in part due to opposition from President Trump and his allies, filed a 34-page privileged resolution Tuesday to impeach Hegseth. Because it carried special procedural powers, House rules required leaders to bring it to the floor within two legislative days — meaning no later than Thursday. By ending the session Wednesday night, Johnson erased that deadline entirely.

It's time for our members to go home to their districts and make the case to the American people.— Mike Johnson, House Speaker

Johnson denied the early departure had anything to do with Hegseth, but he did not hide his contempt for Massie's maneuver.

It is a publicity stunt by someone who wants attention. It will immediately be tabled of course. But we probably won't do that today, we will do it when we come back. We should not be playing games with national security.— Mike Johnson, House Speaker

Johnson also called the effort 'ridiculous,' according to Just the News. GOP House leaders separately insisted the decision was not related to the impeachment push — but the political math was plain: the recess spared members of a conference already anxious about November from having to go on record for or against Hegseth before voters weigh in.

Massie's resolution accused Hegseth of repeatedly abusing the powers of his office in leading the U.S. war with Iran, including carrying out unlawful orders and keeping troops deployed without congressional authorization past the 60-day limit. Massie spent multiple hours reading the resolution aloud on the House floor, according to CNN.

Hegseth has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law.— Thomas Massie, Rep. (R-KY), in his impeachment resolution

The resolution went beyond Iran. Massie also accused Hegseth of what he called the 'kidnapping of a sovereign foreign leader' in Venezuela — referring to the capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro — alleging the operation was carried out 'under the guise of narcotics law enforcement, though in actuality intended to assert U.S. control over Venezuela's oil reserves,' according to CNN.

Attorney General Todd Blanche defended Hegseth on Tuesday, saying the defense secretary 'follows the law' and that the Justice Department plays 'an active role in making sure the laws are complied with.' Blanche said Hegseth is doing 'a phenomenal job,' according to CNN.

The early recess also shelved other pending business. A bipartisan push by Massie to force the release of more files in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation was left behind, as was a Democratic effort to address risks posed by artificial intelligence, according to PBS NewsHour. The House did, however, approve a resolution holding billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress after he defied subpoenas related to the Epstein investigation; it is now up to the Justice Department whether to seek criminal prosecution. Members also voted on a Russia sanctions bill, a major White House priority, as their final act before departing, according to CNN.

The Senate will remain in session for the next three weeks, according to Just the News. When the House returns November 9, Johnson has signaled the impeachment resolution will be tabled — a procedural vote to kill it outright — rather than debated on the merits.

House Republicans were already in a difficult mood before Massie's move, facing mounting pressure on artificial intelligence regulation and tariffs while anxiety over the midterms grew, according to CNN. Massie's primary loss this summer, driven in part by Trump's opposition, made his impeachment push all the more combustible inside a conference trying to hold together ahead of a competitive election.

Why it matters — The early recess means House Republicans will face voters before ever going on record about whether Hegseth should be removed — a vote that could have defined the midterm campaign in either direction.

Reported by pbs.org, usnews.com, cnn.com, justthenews.com, axios.com