House Republicans are clocking off until after the midterm election, canceling Thursday’s vote and staving off an impeachment vote against Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.
Speaker Mike Johnson had already scrapped two full weeks of the September session, leaving lawmakers with just four days of scheduled legislative work before the election.
Now they are leaving even earlier, heading home Wednesday night after a week of work, after he canceled Thursday’s votes.
The move caps off a year that has produced a decidedly mixed legislative record.
Through the end of August, just 34 public bills had been enacted into law, according to an analysis by No Labels, which described that as the lowest total in its comparison of midterm-year Congresses.
The decision to cancel the rest of the working week comes as the midterm election campaign kicks into gear, with House GOP members needing to campaign aggressively to hold on to their majority.
The task has been made even more challenging as Donald Trump has made himself central to the campaign, even as his approval ratings hit a record low.
But Johnson’s decision to end the week early also allows members to avoid having to take a vote on an impeachment resolution introduced by GOP Rep. Thomas Massie targeting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, over the unauthorized war in Iran and other abuses of power.
House Republicans had only returned to the Hill on Monday after a lengthy summer recess. They passed several relatively low-profile measures, including bills concerning bird habitat and invasive species, before turning Tuesday to a series of politically charged votes.
These included a Democratic impeachment resolution targeting Donald Trump, while the House again voted to end Trump’s war in Iran—this time 220-204, with seven Republicans joining Democrats.
Meanwhile, some of the biggest items on Congress’ to-do list remain unfinished, with issues such as AI regulation and other major measures left hanging, while a renewed push by Republicans to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files is now effectively postponed until after the election.
