Pete Hegseth impeachment vote put on hold after House cuts session short

A potential House vote to impeach US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been delayed until after the November midterm election after Republican leaders ended the chamber’s session a day early.

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Wednesday that lawmakers would leave Washington earlier than scheduled. The House is not expected to return until after the November 3 election.

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie introduced an impeachment resolution on Tuesday accusing Hegseth of carrying out unlawful military orders and keeping US troops deployed in Iran without congressional authorisation.

“We should be having this vote. We shouldn’t be cancelling congress because of the optics,” Massie said on the House floor Wednesday.

House leaders did not cite the impeachment resolution when announcing the schedule change.

Johnson called Massie’s effort a “publicity stunt by someone who wants attention.”

“It will immediately be tabled, of course. But we probably won’t do that today. We’ll probably do it when we come back,” Johnson told reporters.

Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson defended Hegseth, saying the department was “unified behind the Secretary’s vision”.