Massie says a whip check found other Republicans willing to vote to impeach Hegseth
Thomas MassieU.S. Representative for Kentucky's 4th congressional district, interviewed on CNN's "The Source"
Speaking to Kaitlan Collins on CNN's "The Source" the evening after introducing eight articles of impeachment, Rep. Thomas Massie said the absence of a vote told him GOP leadership had run a whip check and found Republicans besides himself prepared to vote for impeachment, or at least unwilling to be recorded supporting Hegseth. He said the early start of a seven-week recess was caused by his privileged resolution, argued the rules required a vote within 48 hours rather than after them so Speaker Johnson could have held it immediately, and called the recess the "Hegseth holiday." He also said leaving the resolution hanging over Hegseth until November was "actually bad politics." The whip-count claim is Massie's inference about leadership's motives; no vote was held and no tally exists.
“The fact that they didn't vote on it tells me that they did a whip check, and they probably found that there were some other Republicans, besides me, that were going to vote for this, or at least didn't want to be on the record supporting Hegseth. … If there was any other reason that they canceled tomorrow's day of session, they could have had the Hegseth vote tonight. Because the rules say that he has to have the vote within 48 hours. They don't … say he has to wait 48 hours.”
Original post
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Should Pete Hegseth be impeached?
Members of the House have advanced multiple impeachment proposals involving Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Rep. Shri Thanedar introduced H.Res. 935 in December 2025, Rep. Yassamin Ansari introduced H.Res. 1177 in April 2026, and Rep. Thomas Massie announced in September that he would offer a privileged resolution. The proposals allege distinct conduct involving military operations, oversight, and the handling of sensitive information; the proposals themselves do not establish those allegations. Hegseth disputed the characterization that anyone was “texting war plans,” while Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson called the April effort a charade and, after Massie read his articles on September 15, defended Hegseth’s record without addressing the specific allegations. The dispute is whether the House should impeach Hegseth on the basis of the congressional proposals and available evidence.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Clip posted by aggregator Acyn at 5:41 PM ET on September 16, 2026, of Rep. Thomas Massie answering a reporter who asked whether he was considering a motion to vacate Speaker Mike Johnson. Massie declined the idea, said Johnson had "vacated Congress" instead, listed what he called the Epstein recess last year, the Epstein recess this year and "the Hegseth day off," and coined the phrase "Hegseth holiday" for the following day's cancelled session. This is the verbatim source for that phrase, which appears in the summary of his separate CNN interview recorded in this case. Massie's characterisation of leadership's motives for each recess is his own.
Reporting
About this source
The Hill's report of September 17, 2026, 7:47 AM ET on remarks Rep. Thomas Massie made the previous evening to Kaitlan Collins on CNN's "The Source." Massie argues the House was sent home a day early for a seven-week recess specifically to avoid his privileged impeachment resolution, infers from the absence of a vote that leadership's whip count found Republicans beyond himself willing to support it, and calls the early recess the "Hegseth holiday." The whip-count inference is Massie's own reading of leadership's motives, not established fact, and no vote tally exists. The report notes his eight articles cite Hegseth's handling of the Iran war and operations against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
Before the quotation
Massie introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth on Tuesday and made the resolution privileged, which would have forced a vote within two days. Speaker Mike Johnson then sent the House home a day early for a seven-week recess, which is recorded separately in this case's timeline.
After the quotation
Johnson has dismissed the impeachment push as a publicity stunt, recorded separately. Massie, who lost his May primary to a Trump-backed challenger and is leaving Congress, said the resolution will remain pending until the House returns in November.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Massie maintains and presses his own impeachment push, treating the avoided vote as evidence that support extends beyond him. That is a continued adverse judgment on Hegseth's conduct in office, consistent with his floor speech the same week (897) and with other impeachment supporters here such as Kyle Kulinski (844). The closest competing label is “Mixed or conditional”, on the basis that most of the passage concerns Speaker Johnson's handling of the schedule rather than Hegseth's conduct; it loses because the procedural complaint is made in service of the impeachment he is advancing, and he states no condition on it.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- United States Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth
Corrections to this statement
These notices document reporting corrections, classification changes, and topic-label updates.
Reporting correction
Correction to: Statement by Thomas Massie
- Previous language
- This statement was attributed to Rep. Shri Thanedar.
- Corrected language
- This statement is attributed to Rep. Thomas Massie.
We attributed Rep. Thomas Massie's remarks to Kaitlan Collins on CNN's "The Source" to Rep. Shri Thanedar. The Hill's report identifies Massie as the speaker, and we have corrected the attribution.
This corrects our account of what happened.
The Hill's report of September 17, 2026, 7:47 AM ET on remarks Rep. Thomas Massie made the previous evening to Kaitlan Collins on CNN's "The Source." Massie argues the House was sent home a day early for a seven-week recess specifically to avoid his privileged impeachment resolution, infers from the absence of a vote that leadership's whip count found Republicans beyond himself willing to support it, and calls the early recess the "Hegseth holiday." The whip-count inference is Massie's own reading of leadership's motives, not established fact, and no vote tally exists. The report notes his eight articles cite Hegseth's handling of the Iran war and operations against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
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The Dispute Index. "Massie says a whip check found other Republicans willing to vote to impeach Hegseth". First published: 2026-09-17. Last updated: 2026-09-25. https://disputeindex.com/events/977-speaking-to-kaitlan-collins-on-cnn-s-the