Republican Rep. Thomas Massie unloaded on House Speaker Mike Johnson Wednesday after Republican leaders abruptly canceled the House’s final scheduled day of votes before the midterm elections — delaying Massie’s attempt to force a vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
And Massie had been warning that something like this might happen.
Johnson announced Wednesday that Thursday’s scheduled votes were canceled, allowing House members to begin a roughly seven-week recess ahead of the November elections one day earlier than planned.
“The House has done its work,” Johnson told reporters, arguing that lawmakers should return to their districts and make their case to voters.
But the timing immediately drew scrutiny.
Just one day earlier, Massie had introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth and made the resolution privileged — a procedural move designed to force the House to deal with it.
Johnson’s decision means that confrontation will now likely be postponed until lawmakers return after the November elections.
And Massie was not about to leave quietly.
The Kentucky Republican took to the House floor Wednesday using a rarely invoked question of personal privilege to respond to Johnson, who had previously accused him of not participating as a full member of Congress.
Massie turned the accusation around.
“I’m here today to let you know that I’m a full participating member of the House of Representatives,” Massie said.
Then he made his point even clearer.
“In fact, when other people want to go home, I’m here to work!”
Massie said he wanted Congress to remain in Washington to pursue transparency for survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, address the cost of food and fuel, and confront other issues before lawmakers.
The feud between Massie and Johnson had already been simmering.
Earlier this month, Massie warned that House leadership could shorten its schedule after he and other lawmakers pursued another effort involving the release of Epstein-related government records.
Johnson publicly dismissed Massie’s suggestion.
But Republican leadership subsequently removed two weeks from the House’s September schedule.
Now another day has disappeared.
Massie made sure his colleagues remembered the earlier exchange.
He recalled Johnson publicly ridiculing his prediction that the congressional calendar could be shortened.
Then came Massie’s punchline:
“48 hours later, what did he do? Exactly what I predicted.”
Johnson strongly rejects the suggestion that he is manipulating the House calendar to protect Hegseth.
The speaker called Massie’s impeachment resolution a “publicity stunt” Wednesday and predicted it would be quickly tabled once lawmakers return.
“Secretary Hegseth has done an extraordinary job,” Johnson said, arguing that Congress should not be “playing games with national security” while the United States is involved in international conflicts.
But whatever Johnson’s motivation, the practical result is clear.
The House is leaving Washington, and Massie’s impeachment resolution will not receive the immediate confrontation on the floor that his privileged resolution could otherwise have triggered.
The dispute stems from Massie’s extraordinary move Tuesday to introduce eight articles of impeachment against a defense secretary serving under a president of his own party.
Massie accuses Hegseth of repeatedly violating constitutional and congressional limits on executive war powers, particularly through the ongoing conflict with Iran.
His articles also raise allegations involving military strikes on vessels the administration has accused of drug trafficking, the Pentagon’s investigation of Sen. Mark Kelly, military operations involving Venezuela and strikes in Yemen.
The Pentagon rejects Massie’s case.
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson defended Hegseth as a “transformative leader” and said the department remained united behind him.
The impeachment effort is considered a long shot.
But Massie’s procedural maneuver could still force House Republicans to publicly take a position on Hegseth — which makes the timing particularly sensitive with the midterm elections approaching.
And Hegseth is not the only issue Massie says Congress is abandoning.
Massie has also been pushing a discharge petition aimed at forcing further disclosure of Epstein-related government records, another issue that has repeatedly put him at odds with Republican leadership.
So Wednesday’s speech became about more than one canceled voting day.
It was the latest eruption in a growing battle between a Republican congressman openly challenging his own party’s leadership and a speaker trying to manage an increasingly contentious House just weeks before voters head to the polls.
Johnson says the House has finished its work.
Massie’s message from the House floor was essentially the opposite:
He’s still there.
He wants to work.
And when Congress eventually returns, his attempt to force lawmakers to confront Pete Hegseth will still be waiting for them.
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