House Adjournment Sparks Debate Over Pete Hegseth Impeachment Vote

The early adjournment of the House of Representatives this week, coupled with a scheduled two-week recess, has become a point of contention, with Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., alleging that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., orchestrated the break to avoid a vote on impeachment articles against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Johnson stated that the House was adjourning early because "the House has done its work" and that Republican members would return to their districts to "make the case to the American people on what we have delivered on their behalf." The chamber is not scheduled to reconvene until November 9.

However, Massie believes Johnson's decision to dismiss members a day early was a strategic move to prevent a vote on the eight articles of impeachment he introduced against Hegseth. Under House rules, privileged impeachment resolutions must be considered within 48 hours.

"Tomorrow would be the vote on impeaching Secretary of Defense Peter Bryan Hegseth. And it looks like that vote's not going to happen," Massie said on the House floor. He later elaborated that Johnson had "cut two weeks off of the calendar to keep me from getting to 218 votes on the Epstein discharge petition. And then we came into this week and I introduced eight articles of impeachment against Peter Hegseth and they have 48 hours to vote on that," adding, "He cut off the day tomorrow to avoid the vote."

If the House had remained in session on Thursday, Massie's impeachment articles would have faced a procedural hurdle: a motion to table, which would effectively kill the impeachment effort without a direct vote on the articles themselves. Massie argued that a vote on such a motion could have been difficult for Republicans, potentially leading to a vote on the impeachment articles if the motion to table failed.

"A vote on a motion to table — he may not have survived that vote," Massie asserted, suggesting that Johnson's early adjournment was a means to prevent House Republicans from being put in a difficult position.

This situation draws parallels to a bipartisan effort by Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., last summer to force the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein. At that time, Johnson also adjourned the House for its summer break. Later, during a 43-day government shutdown, the House remained out of session for an extended period before eventually voting 427-1 to release the files.

Massie, who recently lost his primary election to a candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump, with Hegseth having campaigned for that candidate, remains a member of the House through early January. It remains uncertain whether Massie will reintroduce the articles of impeachment against Hegseth later in the fall or winter session.