Why the House Won’t Return While the Government Shutdown Drags On

As the federal government shutdown enters its fourth week, House Speaker Mike Johnson has stated that bringing members back to Washington to vote is pointless. With a stopgap financing bill in the Senate and repeatedly stalled, Johnson calls reopening the chamber a “futile exercise.”

Johnson noted that the House passed a continuing resolution on September 19 to finance the government through November 21, but the Senate has not. The Speaker said reconvening the House to adopt the same proposal now would simply lead to Senate rejection and blame on House Republicans.

Johnson thinks math is easy. The House done its job, so there’s no need in bringing representatives back for a failed vote unless the Senate agrees. He told reporters that if he brought members back now and another bill passed, it “would meet the exact same fate” and wondered, “What would be the point?”

Senate Democrats want more than avoiding a shutdown. They want Affordable Care Act subsidies and lower health-insurance prices for millions of Americans before financing legislation can move forward. After the government reopens, Republicans vow the House will consider such issues. Johnson stated that the Senate now takes over after the chamber.

Republican caucus frustrations persist despite robust rhetoric. Many GOP legislators want to restart legislative business as federal workers and military people go unpaid and significant programs stagnate. Some think the House’s lengthy recess is politically perilous and that a lack of return plans could hurt the conference’s popularity.

Johnson avoids wasting political resources on votes that won’t pass by keeping the House open only when there’s a winning path. The downside is that Washington is idle when the shutdown is having serious implications. Federal agencies operate minimally, welfare programs are stopped, and the public watches.

The Speaker says he’s guarding the House from failure and that bringing members back early would be a photo op while the Senate has all the authority. He lamented that media coverage continues to focus on the House schedule rather than the shutdown’s impact on Americans.

Johnson’s gamble is now at risk as the budget deadline approaches and the shutdown hurts. Will Senate Democrats vote for the House-passed resolution? Will the standoff grow, requiring the Senate to write a new bill and the House’s return? The House will stay sidelined until one of those pathways emerges.

Sources
Axios
The Hill