After Seven Working Days Since Summer Recess, the House Cancels Thursday's Votes and Goes Home Until the Midterms — Speaker Johnson Says "The House Has Done Its Work," Hakeem Jeffries Says the "American People Deserve Better Than a Do-Nothing Republican Congress," and Two Republicans Say Out Loud That the Job Is Not Finished
On September 16, 2026, House Republican leaders cancelled Thursday's votes and sent members home until after the November midterms — closing a post-recess session that ran just seven working days. Left on the floor were AI legislation, further action on the Russia sanctions package, and the privileged resolution Thomas Massie had filed to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Speaker Mike Johnson framed it as members returning to their districts to make their case to voters, and said he would bring the House back on 48 hours' notice if the Senate moved legislation. He rejected the charge that the cancellation was designed to duck the Hegseth impeachment vote as "ridiculous." Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called it a do-nothing Congress and argued the House should not leave town without acting on the pace of AI development. Notably, the sharpest objections also came from Johnson's own conference: Chip Roy and Ralph Norman both said publicly that the House should stay until the work was done. Stances below are relative to the decision to adjourn: "support" backs going home, "oppose" wanted the House to stay.
“The House has done its work. It's time for our members to go home to their districts and make their case to the American people.”