inquirer.com
Speaker Johnson recesses the House early as Rep. Thomas Massie pushes Hegseth impeachment
WASHINGTON — Speaker Mike Johnson closed up the House early, sending lawmakers home Wednesday to campaign for the midterm elections after what he claims is the most productive Congress in decades. But not without a scathing rebuke from GOP Rep. Thomas Massie for all the unfinished business. Massie’s resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the war in Iran and his bipartisan effort to force the release of more files in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation are all being left behind, blocked from votes. “We’re calling off Congress? And we’re in the majority?” Massie railed from the House floor. “I’m trying to get justice for the Epstein survivors,” he said. “I’m trying to stop a war.” Massie, the renegade Republican from Kentucky, seized control of the chamber for a blistering hourlong speech criticizing Johnson, the Republican majority, and the work he said the speaker is refusing to conduct to lower prices for Americans and hold the Trump administration accountable. “Why would we be canceling days when the country is burning?” Massie said. “We should stay here for every day that’s on the calendar and we should debate.” A fitting end to a tumultuous House session The afternoon showdown provided a...