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The Guardian
· collected 2026-09-16 · by Ariana Baio in New York and Shrai Popat in Washington
Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson canceled scheduled votes for Thursday, sending lawmakers home early before the midterm election recess which begins Friday. This decision prevents a vote on Thomas Massie’s impeachment resolution against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and delays discussions on regulating artificial intelligence, despite calls from over 100 Democrats to address AI oversight during the session. Democrats are critical of Johnson's move, seeing it as an avoidance tactic linked to potential bipartisan support for the impeachment resolution.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-16,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Claims extracted
13
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
0%
0 of 13 hedged
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject
Correction & hedging signals
59.9
corrections and hedging in what we collected;
not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
16
Politics
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Story summary
Congress returned from its August recess with just four voting days left in the House and slightly more time in the Senate before members leave to campaign ahead of the November midterm elections. This short session means little legislation of broad national consequence is expected to pass, leaving unresolved issues such as immigration, healthcare costs, and Social Security reform for future sessions or administrations.
Lawmakers are focusing on passing messaging bills they can use during their campaigns rather than addressing urgent legislative priorities like AI regulation, data center power costs, and military funding. The House will vote on the Ratepayer Protection Act to require tech companies to pay for infrastructure needed to construct data centers, which could help vulnerable incumbents address voter concerns about rising energy costs tied to these facilities.
Meanwhile, the Senate plans to take up bills related to cryptocurrency market structure and college sports reforms. However, these efforts may be delayed due to ongoing disputes over ethics rules governing former President Donald Trump and his family's influence on legislation. Additionally, the House faces time-sensitive issues like annual defense policy bill reauthorization, warrantless surveillance program extensions, and farm bill renewals that will likely need to wait until after the elections.
Republican Thomas Massie introduced a resolution on Tuesday calling for Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's impeachment over his handling of military actions in Iran, arguing it constitutes "high crimes and misdemeanors" as Congress never formally declared war in the region. This procedural move forces an immediate vote without going through committee review, reflecting internal party tensions amid Trump-era policies and candidates' election-year maneuvering.
Written for “Congress Midterm Recess Planning” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 15 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score -0.30 for article 14005 (medium confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-16
The Republican speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, announced on Wednesday that he would again cancel votes scheduled for Thursday, sending lawmakers home one day early ahead of the midterm election recess.
asserted
he → announce → recess
The latest change to the legislative schedule means House members will avoid voting on Republican Thomas Massie’s resolution to impeach the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and comes amid a frenzied attempt to propose legislation on artificial intelligence.
asserted
members → mean → intelligence
It’s the latest round of cancelations at the hands of Johnson, who had already cut the pre-election session short by two weeks.
asserted
who → ’ → weeks
Democrats have reacted angrily, encouraging Johnson to keep lawmakers on Capitol Hill before the midterm recess beginning on Friday.
asserted
Democrats → react → Friday
“I think it shows the cowardice of the Republican Party.
asserted
it → think → Party
They are canceling votes to do business for the American people because they are afraid that that impeachment resolution of Pete Hegseth would pass on a bipartisan basis,” Democratic rep Pramila Jayapal told MediasTouch.
asserted
Jayapal → cancel → MediasTouch
Lawmakers also hoped to address regulating AI development after industry executives and whistleblowers expressed a dire need for oversight.
asserted
executives → hop → oversight
Johnson, however, has been reluctant to intervene – aligning himself with Donald Trump.
asserted
Johnson → intervene → Trump
“We cannot have a moratorium on the development of AI,” the House speaker told reporters on Tuesday.
asserted
speaker → have → Tuesday
“Because then we will lose our edge to China, and that has serious national security implications for every American family.”
asserted
that → lose → family
More than 100 House Democrats had urged Johnson, via a letter, to cancel the upcoming recess to allow them to vote on the AI safeguards.
asserted
them → urge → safeguards
The Guardian has asked Johnson’s office for comment.
asserted
Guardian → ask → comment
In a notice on Wednesday, House leadership told members that other votes on EPA regulations, originally planned for Thursday, would instead take place Wednesday afternoon.
asserted
votes → tell → place
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