House Speaker Mike Johnson pulled the plug on Thursday’s scheduled votes, ending the House’s final workweek before the midterm elections a day earlier than planned.

Members were told to finish Wednesday night’s business and head home. The chamber is not scheduled to return until November 9, nearly a week after voters decide control of Congress.

The decision turns what was already a long pre-election recess into an even earlier exit from Washington.

Fox News congressional correspondent Bill Melugin reported the schedule change shortly after Johnson informed reporters:

The Gateway Pundit reported that the House had already erased the weeks of September 21 and September 28 from its voting calendar. Wednesday therefore became the chamber’s last voting day before Election Day on November 3.

ADVERTISEMENT

The report noted that lawmakers had only recently returned from their August break. Now they will spend more than six weeks away from the Capitol while campaigns enter their final stretch.

A temporary government-funding measure is already in place, removing the immediate threat of a shutdown while the House is gone. The Senate is expected to remain in Washington into early October, leaving open the possibility that legislation could accumulate while the lower chamber is away.

Johnson defended the move by arguing that the Republican-led House had completed its work and that members should return to their districts to make their case directly to voters.

Here is Johnson explaining the decision in his own words:

CBS News reported that the House was expected to finish several items before leaving Wednesday, including legislation imposing new sanctions on Russia and a bill aimed at protecting consumers from data-center energy costs.

Other unresolved fights will wait. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky introduced eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Iran war, using a privileged resolution that would normally force House leaders to act within two legislative days.

Canceling Thursday’s session pushes that confrontation into November. Johnson rejected the suggestion that he changed the calendar to avoid the Hegseth vote, calling Massie’s effort a publicity stunt and predicting Republicans would table it when the House returns.

The Speaker also said he could call members back with 48 hours’ notice if the Senate advances legislation the House needs to consider. For now, however, the House calendar is clear until after the election.

Not every Republican is pleased.

ADVERTISEMENT

South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman blasted the early departure and said the House has canceled at least 63 scheduled voting days during this Congress, including nine in September.

Norman argued that members who leave Washington to campaign should not expect taxpayers to keep footing the bill as if they were still conducting legislative business:

The Associated Press reported that the House has cut a net 24 voting days from this year’s schedule after accounting for four added days. The outlet also noted that the chamber did move major Republican priorities during the session, including President Trump’s signature tax-and-spending package.

That record is the case Johnson wants Republican members to carry home. He has described this Congress as one of the most productive in decades and says voters will remember what the majority accomplished.

Still, the optics are hard to miss.

Americans are working, paying taxes and watching Washington leave town again with major disputes unresolved. Even Republicans who support Johnson and reject Massie’s campaign against Hegseth can reasonably ask why the people’s House could not complete one final scheduled day.

Campaigning in congressional districts is part of politics. Voting on legislation is the job members were elected to perform.

Johnson has now made the calculation that Republicans are better served spending the next several weeks defending their record at home than remaining on the House floor. Voters will deliver their verdict on November 3.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

ADVERTISEMENT
 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.