House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) advised representatives to begin their return to Washington early, with travel delays worsening, to vote on a bill to reopen the government.
After more than 50 days of recess, Johnson has begun calling the members back ahead of the formal 36-hour notice that will come after the Senate passes its amended version of the House-passed continuing resolution. The upper chamber cleared its first obstacle on the bill late Sunday as Republicans were joined by seven Democrats and one independent who caucuses with Democrats to clear the 60-vote threshold to break the filibuster.
“I will call all House members to return to Washington as quickly as possible,” Johnson said Monday morning. “We’ll give a 36-hour formal and official notice so that we can vote as soon as possible to pass the amended CR bill and get it to the president’s desk.”
The speaker touched on travel delays, saying he spoke with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy about the sweeping travel inconveniences that have happened due to the shutdown, as air traffic controllers go without pay.
“I’m stating the obvious to all my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats in the House, you need to begin right now returning to the hill,” Johnson added. “We have to do this as quickly as possible, and we look forward to the government reopening this week so Congress can get back, get back to our regular legislative session.”
The Federal Aviation Administration reduced flights by 4% on Friday and plans to increase that figure to 10% a week later. Several members have expressed concerns about their return to Washington, as many within driving distance have been weighing whether they should drive or fly.
After 14 failed votes of the House-passed continuing resolution, the Senate’s version of the bill will extend the CR to Jan. 31, 2026, and include a minibus of three appropriations bills that would fund the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Agriculture, among others. The bill does not include any extension of the Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of this year, that Democrats have been fighting for.
Republicans have vowed to allow a vote next month on the expiring subsidies, with no guarantee that they can pass Congress or will be signed into law. Along with this, Republicans have agreed to reverse thousands of planned layoffs that the White House announced on Oct. 1, the first day of the shutdown.
Eight senators joined 52 Republicans voting for the measure to fund the government: Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).
Should the legislation ultimately pass the Senate, which is expected early this week, it will go back to the House upon members’ return to Washington.
THE SENATE DEMOCRATS WHO VOTED WITH REPUBLICANS TO OPEN THE GOVERNMENT
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) denounced the new bill because it does not address Obamacare subsidies.
“We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,” Jeffries said in a statement.