House to leave early, punting Hegseth impeachment vote until after November elections

House lawmakers will leave Washington on Wednesday night for the last time before the November midterm elections, after GOP leaders said they were canceling votes set for Thursday.

The change in schedule means that the House won’t vote on Republican Rep. Thomas Massie’s resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth until after Election Day.

GOP leaders insisted their decision had nothing to do with Massie’s impeachment efforts. But they were eager to avoid a difficult vote for many of their vulnerable Republican members who have been uneasy with Hegseth’s leadership during the unpopular six-month war with Iran.

Massie’s resolution was filed as privileged, so the House must take it up soon after it returns to Washington.

Talking to reporters, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who is overseeing a razor-thin GOP majority, said he wanted his members to return home and get back on the campaign trail.

“It’s time for our members to go home to their districts and make their case to the American people. To go and explain all the great things we’ve done. You’ve seen the record. You’ve seen what we’ve delivered ... the largest middle- and working-class tax cut in U.S. history. We have the violent crime rate at a 126-year low,” Johnson said.

It’s “an extraordinary record of achievement,” he added, “and so I’m excited for my Republican colleagues to go home and talk to the American people, work in their districts, and explain to them not only serving their constituents but explaining to them all the great things we’ve done for them and all the things we’re going to do in the days ahead.”