Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s potential impeachment vote was delayed until November after Speaker Mike Johnson announced an early recess for the House of Representatives, sending members home for a seven-week campaigning period before midterm elections. The House had been scheduled to remain in session until Thursday, but leadership opted to conclude legislative activities on Wednesday evening after voting on a Russia sanctions bill.
This early adjournment effectively staved off a vote on articles of impeachment introduced by Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Massie had filed a “privileged” resolution on Tuesday, which under House rules, would have forced a vote within two legislative days. Massie accused Hegseth of "high crimes and misdemeanors," primarily for unlawfully waging war against Iran, ignoring laws to minimize civilian casualties, ordering extrajudicial killings, suppressing free speech, and unlawfully striking Yemen.
The articles of impeachment also cited Hegseth for the kidnapping of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. Massie expressed concern that Speaker Johnson would shorten the legislative period to avoid the vote, and indeed, GOP leaders avoided the challenging vote by moving to adjourn early. Many House Republicans, as well as Democrats, are reportedly aggravated with Hegseth and the war in Iran, creating a difficult political situation for the party ahead of elections.
A Pentagon spokesperson defended Hegseth, calling him a “transformative leader” and stating that the department is unified behind his leadership and vision. Had the House remained in session, Republican leaders would likely have pursued a “motion to table” Massie's resolution, which would have killed the impeachment effort without a direct vote on Hegseth's actions, thereby insulating members from taking a controversial stance before the midterms. However, the early recess served the same purpose, pushing any potential action until after the November elections.
