House Republicans will move to block Democrats’ effort to investigate Pete Hegseth’s controversial use of Signal — doubling down on their support for the secretary of defense.
GOP leaders tucked specific language into a rule with unrelated measures — a procedural maneuver to advance legislation — that blocks Democrats’ plan to call up “resolutions of inquiry,” a resolution often used by the minority party that makes a direct request or demand of the president to provide specific information from the administration.
Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, plans to force a vote on a resolution of inquiry that calls on Trump to turn over all of Hegseth’s communications that were shared on Signal.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson attends a news conference following a meeting of the House Republican Conference on Capitol Hill on April 29, 2025 in Washington.
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If the House does adopt the rule Tuesday, Smith’s resolution would not be able to come to the floor for a vote until after Sept. 30. The House is expected to vote on and will likely pass the rule Tuesday afternoon.
According to House rules, once a resolution of inquiry is introduced and referred to a specific committee, the panel has 14 legislative days to take it up or it becomes privileged on the floor, requiring GOP leaders to bring it up for a vote within two legislative days.
“We’re using the rules of the House to prevent political hijinks and stunts,” Johnson said, defending the move. “So, we’re preventing this nonsensical waste of our time. We don’t have time to waste,” he argued.
Johnson has used the legislative maneuver twice in recent months to block Democrats’ effort to rescind Trump’s tariffs.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
