FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump listens as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a cabinet meeting at Camp David in Thurmont, Maryland, U.S., July 31, 2026. REUTERS/Daniel Heuer/File Photo
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) canceled Thursday's votes and will likely send members home until the November midterms, a move one Republican suggested was meant to sidestep a forced impeachment vote on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Johnson told reporters Wednesday that Thursday's votes were canceled and the House will likely leave for recess after the final votes, Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin reported on X. The House had been scheduled to return Nov. 9, CNN reported.
The decision comes after House Democrats urged Johnson to cancel the recess and keep the chamber in session to deal with what they called the "catastrophic risk posed by advanced artificial intelligence." More than 100 House Democrats have called for the recess to be canceled, Melugin reported.
Leadership had discussed scrapping Thursday's votes to head off the Hegseth impeachment vote, Washington Sun reporter Reese Gorman wrote on X.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth on the House floor Tuesday, CBS News reported. The articles accuse the defense secretary of defying Congress during the Iran war.
Massie filed the measure as a privileged resolution, which stops leaders from quietly shelving it, according to ABC News. The status forces a floor vote within two legislative days, a deadline that would have hit Thursday.
Such a vote would force Republicans to go on the record defending Hegseth weeks before the midterm elections, the outlet reported.
Massie gave GOP leaders no warning before he took the floor, CNN reported.
"When they found out I was doing the Epstein discharge petition, they canceled two weeks of Congress, and I think if they found out I was going to do this, they might have canceled even more days," Massie said.
"Why today? Because Speaker Johnson has basically canceled the rest of Congress until the elections," Massie told ABC News.
Gorman reported it was unclear whether canceling Thursday's votes could actually head off the impeachment vote. Republican leaders could also move to table the resolution, killing it without a straight vote on impeachment, ABC News reported.
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson defended Hegseth to CBS News as a "transformative leader" who has "slashed bureaucracy, unleashed innovation, and delivered for our warfighters every step of the way."
Massie said Tuesday that he had not heard back from Johnson, who he said has "48 hours" to call the vote, The Hill reported.