Johnson-Massie feud boils over: "Why are we taking days off our calendar?"
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Rep. Thomas Massie speaks to reporters at the Capitol today. Photo: Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images
Mike Johnson's decision to send the House home early — again — is fueling an increasingly bitter feud with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) over whether the speaker is using the calendar to dodge politically painful votes.
Why it matters: The House will now be gone for more than six weeks ahead of the midterms, delaying Massie's effort to force a vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his handling of the Iran war.
- "We had the Epstein recess last year. We got the Epstein recess this year, and then we got the Hegseth day off," Massie told Axios coming off an hourlong tirade on the House floor Wednesday.
- Massie's impeachment resolution has dim prospects in the GOP-controlled House, but it would have forced members to go on the record on Hegseth just weeks before the midterms.
Driving the news: Massie introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth on Tuesday as a privileged resolution, giving the House two legislative days to act.
- But Johnson's decision to cancel Thursday's session pushes the matter until after the election.
- "He cut off the day tomorrow to avoid the vote," Massie said. "The speaker could still have the vote today if he wanted. That's how we know he did this."
- Johnson (R-La.) disputed that characterization Wednesday, calling Massie's claim "ridiculous" and the Kentucky Republican's impeachment push a "publicity stunt." He said he expects the House to table the resolution when lawmakers return.
Zoom in: It's not the first time Massie has accused Johnson of keeping the House out of session to avoid votes he is trying to force.
- Last year, Johnson kept the House out of session for nearly two months during the government shutdown, with Massie accusing the speaker of trying to stall his first discharge petition aimed at forcing release of government files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
- Johnson also recently canceled the final two weeks of the September session — amid Massie's claim that he's closed in on the GOP support he needs for a discharge petition to force another Epstein files vote.
- "We have the votes," Massie told Axios of his second Epstein discharge petition, saying he has locked down the fourth Republican signature he needs but declining to identify the member.
The intrigue: Massie took the fight to the House floor Wednesday, using a point of personal privilege to deliver an hourlong indictment of Johnson's leadership and the institution.
- "We're in the majority. We didn't lose the election," Massie told reporters afterward. "Why are we taking days off our calendar? We should be adding days to our calendar while we've got these last few remaining days."
- Other lawmakers also spoke out against Johnson's decision, with Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) writing on X: "Canceling yet another day of votes is unacceptable.… The Founders did not envision taking this much time off and still getting paid."
- It's not uncommon for lawmakers to recess for the entire month of October in an election year.
Between the lines: For all of Massie's anger at Johnson, he says he has no plans to try to oust him.
- "Speaker Johnson has vacated Congress. Like, I don't need to vacate Speaker Johnson," Massie told Axios when asked about a possible motion to vacate, though he added that he has other tricks up his sleeve that he declined to reveal.
- "The day that Donald Trump doesn't want him to be speaker, he will no longer be the speaker," Massie added.
