US Congress returns for lame-duck session as Hegseth impeachment looms

Following the Democrats' historic midterm election victory, the US Congress returns on Monday for a five-week lame-duck session. There is a long to-do list before the end of the year, with dozens of lawmakers ending their tenure in the House and at least 17 senators heading home as well.

The session kicks off on Monday with a two-week legislative period, along with freshman orientation for members-elect who will be seated in the 120th Congress on 3 January.

As of Friday, at least 109 incoming House freshmen will be seated — the largest pre-convening freshmen class in almost 100 years, since the 73rd Congress convened in 1933. Several races are still too close to call.

In the coming weeks Congress must pass legislation to avert a looming government shutdown, as well as finish work on the farm bill, FISA reform and the National Defense Authorization Act.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is already hearing it from his own conference. Republican leadership plans to advance just one piece of legislation under a rule next week, and there was frustration earlier in the fall when the speaker dismissed lawmakers for a six-week campaign blitz rather than put Republican wins on the floor.

Republican Representative Thomas Massie — who lost a GOP primary months ago — is expected to reintroduce a privileged resolution to impeach Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, with eight articles of impeachment. Massie could move as early as Monday, teeing up a showdown midweek.

After Tuesday's Democratic victories, Hegseth is facing pressure at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he intends to keep Hegseth in his job, while several Republicans — including Vice President JD Vance — assess that the Iran war led to the party's midterm losses.

In a video posted on Thursday, Hegseth proclaimed that he will not back down, doubling down on the Iran war and his cultural agenda at the Pentagon while drawing a parallel to Trump. He said: 'This is not about me, but of course the other side, they're obsessed. A disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democratic allies has also dropped sham articles of impeachment against yours truly. Just like they tried against President Trump twice.'

Massie has another effort moving forward as well: his Epstein discharge petition is on the brink of ripening with 218 signatures, squarely aimed at Attorney General Todd Blanche. He has already amassed 216 signatures, including four fellow lame-duck GOP signatures — himself, Representatives Nancy Mace, Ralph Norman and Brian Fitzpatrick.

Massie now needs just two more Democrats to endorse the petition to force floor consideration of the Epstein Transparency Act II — a bill that empowers state attorneys general, victims and members of Congress to sue the US Attorney General in federal court for unlawfully withholding or redacting Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell investigative records.

Blanche acknowledged 'mistakes' in failing to properly redact certain names of some victims. Testifying on 15 July at the Senate Judiciary Committee, he said: 'Whenever we learned that any victim's name had been improperly non-redacted, we immediately took the document down and fixed it as soon as we could. That doesn't excuse the mistakes of which I take full responsibility, but it does mean that we tried to fix them. We complied with the act.'

The report says Johnson's designs for the lame-duck session could be quickly derailed if Massie's resolution moves forward; with a shutdown to avert, the defence bill and the Hegseth proposal, the coming weeks look set to be busy and tense for Congress.