House Republican leaders are giving their vulnerable incumbents more time to hit the campaign trail this fall.
They announced Thursday that two scheduled weeks of work in Washington at the end of September were canceled.
“Members are advised that votes are not expected in the House during the weeks of September 21st and September 28th,” the scheduling announcement read.
Adding to the already planned October recess, that will give lawmakers 6½ weeks to campaign in their districts before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The last scheduled House voting day before then is now Sept. 17.
The scheduling notice did leave open the possibility that the House could be called back into session later in September with 48 hours’ notice. But that would occur only if the Senate adopted an altered budget resolution to kick-start the reconciliation process for a third filibuster-proof bill that requires a new House vote.
The House just returned to Washington this week after a five-week summer recess and is out again next week for Labor Day and the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas.
The chamber will still be in session the week of Sept. 14, which is when the Senate returns from its summer recess.
The House’s main task this month was averting a September end-of-fiscal-year shutdown fight. The chamber on Tuesday quickly cleared a Senate-passed stopgap spending bill to keep the government funded through Dec. 11.
House Speaker Mike Johnson vehemently dismissed a suggestion this week from Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie that he was going to send the House home early to avoid a vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act II.
Mr. Massie filed a discharge petition on Monday to force a vote on the bill, which adds enforcement mechanisms to the original bill requiring the Justice Department to release all of its case files on Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes.
“Let me tell you how stupid Thomas Massie’s comment is: If he had come to our House Republican conference meetings, as we had this morning, he would have heard me say privately, as I’ve said publicly, Republicans are here to work,” Mr. Johnson said.
“We have a schedule, a calendar that’s been out for a year,” the Louisiana Republican said. “We are going to work all the way through September and every day that’s on the calendar, so long as people like him don’t stop the progress. So that is a nonsensical statement by someone who is not participating as a full member of the Congress.”
Mr. Johnson’s reason for ultimately deciding not to work through September is undoubtedly more about giving vulnerable Republicans more time to campaign than it has to do with Mr. Massie’s discharge petition, which as of Thursday had 105 of the required 218 signatures.
Democrats have maintained an advantage in most generic congressional ballot polls.
But the speaker has been bullish about Republicans’ ability to hold onto and even expand their House majority, despite political headwinds that the party in control of the White House typically faces in a midterm election year.
Republicans were internally split on whether to use more time in September voting in Washington or campaigning at home.
Rep. Chip Roy, Texas Republican, who lost a bid for Texas attorney general and is not up for reelection, said his party “has done a lot of good things that we ought to be campaigning on” and should stay in session this month only if they’re going to vote on things that “actually move the needle.”
“I think we ought to finish strong with some things that matter, at least one thing that matters,” he said, citing legislation dealing with voter concerns about Flock cameras as an example.
Former Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said on social media Thursday that Mr. Johnson’s decision to cut the schedule short after passing a stopgap spending bill and failing to advance priorities that Republicans campaigned on last cycle is a capitulation to Democrats.
“Do you all get it yet? No matter how much you raise your voice, support candidates, knock doors, volunteer, the same failure continues,” she said.
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