Speaker Mike Johnson sent the House home a day early, sidelining a bid to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Iran war. Routine scheduling, or burying accountability?
The early recess was for midterm campaigning. Massie's resolution and the Epstein-files push were both left behind, unvoted, when the House recessed a day ahead of schedule.
What happened
On Sept 16, Speaker Mike Johnson announced the House would recess a day early, sending lawmakers home to campaign for the midterms after taking a final vote on a Russia sanctions bill. The early exit meant Rep. Thomas Massie's resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his role in the Iran war, and Massie's bipartisan push to force release of more Jeffrey Epstein files, never came up for a vote. The House is not due back until after the November election.
Why people disagree
Johnson and GOP leadership call the timing routine and describe Massie's impeachment push as a publicity stunt that will simply be tabled when the House returns. Massie and critics argue leadership deliberately used campaign season as cover to avoid a politically awkward vote tied to the Iran war.
What's still unclear
Whether the resolution would have had any real chance of passing even with a vote, and whether the delay changes much in practice given the House was not returning before the election regardless.
Sources
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