The US House of Representatives has adjourned roughly seven weeks earlier than expected, a move that has delayed a forced vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth until after November’s midterm elections, according to NBC News and Axios.
Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky triggered the standoff on Tuesday when he introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth on the House floor, reading the 34-page resolution aloud for more than 67 minutes, according to ABC News. Massie filed the measure as ‘privileged’, a procedural designation that under House rules obliges lawmakers to act on it within two legislative days.
Massie said he did not tell Republican leadership in advance. ‘I was afraid that they would do something to subvert me getting on the floor for an hour and 20 minutes and reading these articles,’ he told The Hill.
What the articles allege
The resolution accuses Hegseth of waging war in Iran without congressional authorisation under the War Powers Act, the US law requiring presidential consultation with Congress before extended military engagements. It also alleges unlawful military operations in Yemen and Venezuela, including actions targeting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, extrajudicial killings via boat strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, and suppression of free speech through threats against Senator Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat.
It is the second impeachment attempt against Hegseth this year. House Democrats introduced six separate articles in April 2026, but that effort never reached a floor vote, according to NPR and Axios.
Leadership denies the timing was deliberate
On Wednesday, House Republican leaders cancelled Thursday’s scheduled votes, moved remaining business forward, and sent members home for recess through the midterms. That effectively postponed Massie’s forced vote until lawmakers return after Election Day. Speaker Mike Johnson said he expects the House to table the resolution once that happens, and dismissed Massie’s effort as, in his words, ‘a publicity stunt by someone who wants attention’, according to Axios and NewsOne.
“They’re canceling Congress tomorrow to avoid the vote on IMPEACHING @SecWar. It will also make it harder for us to reach 218 signatures on the Epstein Discharge Petition before the election.” — Thomas Massie, U.S. Representative (R-Ky.)
The Pentagon rejected the substance of the articles. ‘Secretary Hegseth has been a transformative leader for the Department of War,’ said press secretary Kingsley Wilson, according to ABC News, adding that ‘the entire Department is unified behind the Secretary’s vision.’
A retiring lawmaker’s last stand
Massie, who lost his Republican primary in May to Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein and is not seeking re-election, said the early recess had a second effect: undercutting a separate discharge petition he co-leads, which needs 218 signatures to force a vote on releasing files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Supporters had reportedly gathered more than 190 signatures as of Tuesday night, according to figures Massie posted on X and cited by CNBC and Yahoo News.
‘That’s ridiculous,’ Johnson said when asked whether the recess was timed to avoid the impeachment vote, according to Fox Carolina. Massie maintains otherwise: ‘He could call the vote tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, and that was another reason for the timing,’ he told The Hill, referring to Johnson’s control over the House calendar.
With Congress not due back until after the midterms, both the impeachment resolution and the Epstein-related petition remain pending, their fate now tied to a House that will not reconvene until voters have already gone to the polls.
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