House Closes Up Shop a Day Before Scheduled 7-Week Recess

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., moved to close down the House of Representatives on Wednesday, angering Democrat and Republican lawmakers alike.

The speaker’s move comes as the House already had a seven-week recess, which was supposed to start Thursday.

While Johnson did not state that the potential impeachment proceeding against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth prompted the move, the speaker did tell reporters that he thought the idea of impeachment, introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was “ridiculous.”

“It’s a publicity stunt by someone who wants attention,” he said. “It will immediately be tabled, of course, but we probably won’t do that today. We’ll probably do it when we come back. But it’s a stunt. Secretary Hegseth has done an extraordinary job.”

As a result of Johnson’s cancellation of Thursday’s votes, leadership staffers sent a notice to House members saying that some of the votes expected on Thursday, such as ones to overturn certain EPA regulations, would now take place on Wednesday.

Johnson’s cancellation of votes has angered House Republicans, who have condemned the move as “unacceptable” because it leaves no room for conservatives to enact recently introduced legislation to repeal the federal gas tax and codify the president’s border mandates.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, told the Daily Signal it’s “a shame” that the House is leaving Washington when there is “still so much work left to do.”

“House Republicans have accomplished a great deal, but we should stay here and finish the job,” Roy continued. “That means codifying President [Donald] Trump’s border policies, pausing immigration, standing firmly against Sharia law, and pushing back against the growing surveillance state, among other things.”

“We should stay until the job is done,” the congressman continued.

Similarly, another member of the House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., condemned the cancellation of Thursday’s votes on X, stating that it is “unacceptable.”

“Canceling yet another day of votes is unacceptable,” Norman wrote. “The House has now canceled at least 63 scheduled voting days this Congress, including nine days this month alone, and now we’re leaving Washington until after the election.”

Norman added that this behavior from House leadership, leaving early to campaign instead of “doing the job taxpayers sent us here to do,” goes against what the Founders envisioned.

“We still have work to do,” Norman concluded.

During a press conference before Johnson’s decision, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that he is not in favor of closing the House early and instead wants to stay in Washington until the chamber can reach a bipartisan compromise on the Russia sanctions bill and artificial intelligence regulations.

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