House Flees Town Rather Than Vote on Hegseth Impeachment — Resolution Carried to Lame Duck
Rep. Thomas Massie's (R-KY) privileged eight-article impeachment resolution against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — introduced on the House floor Tuesday, September 15, 2026, over his conduct of the Iran war — never got the vote House rules required by ~September 17. Instead, GOP leaders scrapped Thursday's votes and sent lawmakers home a day early for the midterms1, kicking the resolution into the lame-duck session that begins November 9.
Massie, on X: "And there it is. Just as I predicted. They're canceling Congress tomorrow to avoid the vote on IMPEACHING @SecWar." Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.): "These people are such incredible cowards... Mike Johnson and Donald Trump are so afraid that the Republicans and Democrats in Congress would vote for that resolution of impeachment and that it would pass because they know that what Pete Hegseth has done, his role in driving us into this war, is absolutely wrong, and he needs to be held accountable for it."
Speaker Mike Johnson called the resolution "a publicity stunt by someone who wants attention" that will "immediately" be rejected in the lame duck: "It's a stunt. Secretary Hegseth has done an extraordinary job, the Department of War. We're in the middle of international conflicts right now, and we should not be playing games with national security."
What it means: the only live intra-GOP check on the administration's war powers fizzled without a recorded vote — no member had to go on record before the midterms. Four of the eight articles concern Hegseth's prosecution of the unauthorized Iran war; the $95 billion reconciliation package stalled in the Senate contains $73 billion more for that war and $10 billion in election-rule incentives. When the House returns November 9, the resolution's fate — and whether Democrats who gain seats pursue Hegseth's ouster themselves — will be the first order of business.
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An instance of Nothing goes on the record before the midterms. — Leaders cancel the calendar rather than let members record a position on the war secretary's impeachment. ↩︎