BURSTHouse Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Friday that he won't call House lawmakers back to Washington until the government shutdown ends.
"We will come back, and get back to legislative session, as soon as the Senate Democrats turn the lights back on," Johnson told reporters in the Capitol, as the lapse in funding stretched into a 10th day. "That's the fact. That's where we are."
Johnson had canceled previously scheduled House votes on Sept. 29 and 30 — the last two days before the shutdown — and then again for the entirety of this week. The move was designed to maximize the pressure on Senate Democrats to support the GOP-led stopgap spending bill, which passed through the House last month.
Senate Republicans have brought the bill to the floor seven times over the last two weeks, but Democrats have blocked it every time.
The House was scheduled to be in for four days next week, beginning Tuesday. But GOP leaders announced Friday that the Tuesday session has been canceled, and Johnson's remarks suggest the other three days will follow if the government remains closed.
The long recess has drawn howls of protest from Democratic leaders, who have returned to Washington to demand negotiations that might lead to a bipartisan spending bill that could reopen the government.
"House Republicans canceled votes last week. House Republicans canceled votes this week. House Republicans appear ready to cancel votes next week," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters Thursday outside the Capitol.
"These people are not serious about reopening the government," he added.
Johnson rejected the suggestion Friday that his decision to keep the House out of Washington is politically motivated. Rather, he says lawmakers need to be at home to help constituents weather the effects of the shutdown.
"This is not a strategy call to keep the House working in their districts right now," he told reporters. "There's an urgent necessity of it."
He pointed specifically to a $50 billion fund, enacted over the summer as part of President Trump's "big, beautiful bill," which was designed to prop up rural hospitals that might be harmed by the Medicaid cuts contained in that bill.
"Our members are out working diligently in their districts serving their constituents right now," Johnson said.