WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives is officially out of session until after the midterm elections, sending lawmakers home to campaign and leaving a long list of unfinished business waiting for them when they return to Washington.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) canceled Thursday’s scheduled votes and closed the chamber one day earlier than planned on Wednesday. House members are not expected back until after the November 3 elections, meaning the legislative phase of the midterm cycle has effectively given way to the campaign phase.
Johnson defended the decision by arguing that the House has already “done its work” and that members should return to their districts to make their case to voters. He has described the current Congress as one of the most productive in the institution’s history, pointing to hundreds of bills passed by the House and major legislation including President Donald Trump’s tax-and-spending package.
But the early exit also means lawmakers will spend the final weeks before Election Day unable to change their legislative records in the chamber. And there is plenty waiting for them when they return. The most immediate unresolved fight is over War Secretary Pete Hegseth and the war in Iran.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) filed eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth Tuesday, accusing the War secretary of violating the War Powers Resolution by continuing military operations in Iran without congressional authorization. The resolution is privileged, meaning Massie can force the House to take it up under the chamber’s rules. Johnson has said the resolution will ultimately be tabled, dismissing Massie’s effort as a “publicity stunt.”
The House will also return with the Iran war itself still unresolved. On Tuesday, the chamber voted 220-204 to direct the administration to end U.S. military involvement in the conflict, with seven Republicans joining every voting Democrat. It was the third House vote seeking to end the hostilities. The votes have put a small but growing group of Republicans on record against the administration’s handling of the war, while Republican leaders have continued defending the president’s authority to conduct the campaign.
Then there is the Epstein investigation. Massie and other lawmakers have been pushing for the Justice Department to release additional files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Massie complained Wednesday that the early departure would make it more difficult to collect the 218 signatures needed to force consideration of a discharge petition compelling action on the files.
The House Oversight Committee has also continued its investigation. On Tuesday, the committee voted on a bipartisan basis to advance a resolution recommending that the House hold billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with subpoenas connected to its investigation into the Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases.
Artificial intelligence is another major issue that will wait for Congress. The House did take action on the issue Wednesday, passing the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act by a 417-3 vote. The legislation would require data centers to bear the costs of new electricity and transmission infrastructure associated with their operations rather than shifting those costs onto other ratepayers.
But that is far short of the broader debate over AI regulation that lawmakers have been demanding. More than 100 House Democrats had urged Johnson to keep Congress in session to address AI safeguards. Johnson has rejected calls for a moratorium on AI development, arguing that slowing the industry could undermine the United States’ ability to compete with China.
“If I called an emergency session today and I brought everybody in the House and said, ‘Let’s regulate AI,’ nobody in the room knows yet what that should look like,” Johnson said Tuesday.
The House also leaves behind an unresolved intelligence fight: Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which permits the government to conduct surveillance targeting certain foreign persons overseas, lapsed in June after Congress failed to agree on a reauthorization. Existing FISA Court certifications remain in effect for a period of time, but Congress still faces the question of whether and how to restore the statutory authority.
Lawmakers will eventually have to return to the regular business of funding the federal government.
Congress avoided an immediate government shutdown earlier this month when it passed and President Trump signed a continuing resolution funding the government through December 11. That pushed the next major appropriations deadline beyond the midterms, guaranteeing that lawmakers will face another funding fight when they return.
The House did manage to clear several significant measures before leaving.
On Wednesday, it passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 by a 262-159 vote, sending the legislation to Trump. The bill would impose additional sanctions on Russia and Iran and authorize the president to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that continue purchasing Russian energy.
The House also passed the data center legislation and other measures during its final day. But those votes were followed by the chamber’s early departure — and a sharp confrontation over what Congress should have been doing instead.
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