WASHINGTON — House lawmakers are heading home early for the final stretch of the midterm election season after GOP leadership abruptly canceled all scheduled votes for Thursday. The last-minute change to the legislative calendar effectively punts a brewing confrontation over the future of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth until after the November polls.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced a privileged resolution on Tuesday to impeach Hegseth, forcing the House to act on the measure within two legislative days. However, by scrubbing Thursday’s voting schedule, Speaker Mike Johnson has successfully insulated vulnerable Republican members from a potentially toxic floor vote just weeks before they face voters.
While GOP leadership maintains that the scheduling change is standard procedure to allow members to focus on their re-election campaigns, the move arrives at a politically delicate moment. Many rank-and-file Republicans have expressed private unease regarding Hegseth’s leadership during the increasingly unpopular six-month war with Iran.
Speaker Johnson dismissed the impeachment effort entirely during a press conference on Wednesday, labeling the resolution a “publicity stunt” orchestrated by a congressman seeking attention.
“It will immediately be tabled, of course,” Johnson told reporters. “Secretary Hegseth has done an extraordinary job. We’re in the middle of international conflicts right now, and we should not be playing games with national security.”
Johnson, who is working to protect a razor-thin GOP majority, pivoted to a message of optimism regarding the party’s electoral prospects. He urged his caucus to spend their time in their home districts highlighting the party’s legislative achievements, citing tax cuts and record-low violent crime rates. “It’s an extraordinary record of achievement,” Johnson said. “I’m excited for my Republican colleagues to go home and talk to the American people.”
For Massie, the impeachment push is the latest chapter in a long-running, contentious relationship with both House leadership and the administration. The Kentucky Republican has been a vocal critic of the war in Iran and previously voted to restrict President Trump’s military operations.
The personal stakes for Massie are high; he recently lost his GOP primary to Ed Gallrein, a challenger recruited by the Trump team and actively supported by Hegseth himself during the May election.
On Tuesday, Massie took to the House floor with no advance warning, reading the resolution into the record and accusing the Secretary of Defense of acting in a manner “grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law.”
With the House now in recess until Nov. 9, the impeachment saga remains in legislative limbo. While the House has suspended its work, the Senate is slated to remain in session for the next three weeks, leaving the Capitol largely quiet on the House side until after the midterm results are tallied.
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