Johnson Calls House to Return for Shutdown Vote
Speaker Pushes for Swift Passage of Bipartisan Funding Bill
Key Takeaways:
- House Speaker Mike Johnson called on lawmakers to return to Washington after the Senate voted Nov. 9 to advance a bipartisan bill to end the government shutdown.
- Johnson, who had kept the House out of session since mid-September, said the chamber must act quickly to pass the funding measure.
- The House is expected to take up the Senate bill in the coming days, though it remains uncertain whether President Donald Trump will sign it once approved.
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WASHINGTON — Speaker Mike Johnson said Nov. 10 that House lawmakers should start returning to Washington “right now” after asmall group of Senate Democratsbroke a 40-day stalemate late Nov. 9 and voted with Republicans to move forward with legislation that would end thegovernment shutdown.
It is unclear when the Senate will hold final votes on the legislation. But Johnson said the “nightmare is finally coming to an end” after the Senate voted 60-40 to consider a compromise bill to fund the government.
“We have to do this as quickly as possible," Johnson said at a news conference. He has kept the House out of session since mid-September, when it passed a bill to continue government funding.
After weeks of negotiations, themoderate Senate Democratsagreed to reopen the governmentwithout a guaranteed extensionof health care subsidies, angering many in their caucus who have demanded that Republicans negotiate with them on the Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire Jan. 1. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) promised a mid-December vote on the subsidies, but there was no guarantee of success.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York voted against moving ahead with the package, along with all but eight of his Democratic colleagues.
“We will not give up the fight,” Schumer said, adding that Democrats have now “sounded the alarm” on health care.
An end to the shutdown could still be days away if any senators object and drag out the process. Thune was still working out concerns within his Republican conference about individual provisions in the underlying spending bills.
One of those Republicans, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, had threatened to object to a provision championed by his home state colleague, Sen. Mitch McConnell, to prevent the sale of some hemp-based products.
Thune said he hopes final passage of the Senate bill will be “hours not days.”
“The American people have suffered for long enough. Let’s not pointlessly drag this bill out,” he said.
President Donald Trump has not said whether he will sign it but told reporters at the White House Nov. 9 that it “looks like we’re getting close to the shutdown ending.”
Five Democrats Switch Votes
A group of three former governors — New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine — broke the six-week stalemate on Nov. 9 when they agreed to vote to advance three bipartisan annual spending bills and extend the rest of government funding until late January.
The legislation includes a reversal of the mass firings of federal workers by the Trump administration since the shutdown began on Oct. 1. It also protects federal workers against further layoffs through January and guarantees they are paid once the shutdown is over.
In addition to Shaheen, King and Hassan, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, home to tens of thousands of federal workers, also voted in favor of moving forward on the agreement. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen also voted yes.
The moderates had expected a larger number of Democrats to vote with them as 10-12 Democratic senators had been part of the negotiations. But in the end, only five switched their votes — the exact number that Republicans needed. King, Cortez Masto and Fetterman had already been voting to open the government since Oct. 1.
The agreement includes bipartisan bills worked out by the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund parts of government — food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things.
Democrats Call the Vote a “Mistake”
Schumer, who received blowback from his party in March when he voted to keep the government open, said he could not “in good faith” support it after meeting with his caucus for more than two hours Nov. 9.
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with the Democrats, said giving up the fight was a “horrific mistake.” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., agreed, saying that voters whooverwhelmingly supported Democrats in last week's electionswere urging them to "hold firm.”
House Democrats swiftly criticized the Senate.
Texas Rep. Greg Casar, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said a deal that doesn’t reduce health care costs is a “betrayal” of millions of Americans who are counting on Democrats to fight.
Others gave Schumer a nod of support. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries had criticized Schumer in March after his vote to keep the government open. But he praised the Senate Democratic leader on Nov. 10 and expressed support for his leadership throughout the shutdown.
"The American people know we are on the right side of this fight," Jeffries said on Nov. 10, pointing to the Nov. 5 election results.
Health Care Debate Ahead
It’s unclear whether the two parties would be able to find any common ground on the health care subsidies before a promised December vote in the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has said he will not commit to bringing it up in his chamber.
On Nov. 10, Johnson said House Republicans have always been open to voting to reform what he called the "unaffordable care act" but again did not say if they would vote on the subsidies.
Some Republicans have said they are open to extending the COVID-19-era tax credits as premiums could skyrocket for millions of people, but they also want new limits on who can receive the subsidies and argue that the tax dollars for the plans should be routed through individuals.
Other Republicans, including Trump, have used the debate to renew their yearslong criticism of the law and called for it to be scrapped or overhauled.
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