Republicans are rallying behind Speaker Mike Johnson’s move to cancel House votes next week, tightening their strategy in the government shutdown fight as they press Senate Democrats to accept a temporary funding bill without policy add-ons, The Hill reported.
House GOP leaders urged unity on a Saturday morning call with members, signaling that the decision to scrub votes is meant to maximize pressure on Senate Democrats. The House-passed bill would extend government funding for seven weeks, a measure Republicans describe as “clean.”
Leaders said members would be given 48 hours’ notice if a compromise in the Senate requires the House to reconvene. For now, Republicans argue that they hold the upper hand and see little reason to divert attention from the Senate battle.
“The House will come back into session and do its work as soon as [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer [D-N.Y.] allows us to reopen the government,” Johnson said Friday.
The shutdown is poised to continue into next week after Senate Democrats rejected for the fourth time the GOP-backed continuing resolution that funds the government through Nov. 21. Democrats instead have pushed for negotiations on health care, particularly the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced subsidies set to expire this year.
Republicans, however, have refused to negotiate on subsidies while the government remains closed.
“We can’t make commitments or promises on the COVID subsidies, because that’s not something that we can guarantee that there are the votes there to do,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. “What I said is, I’m hoping to have a conversation with our Democrat colleagues about how to address that issue … But that can’t happen while the government is shut down.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., accused Republicans of abandoning their responsibilities by canceling votes. He noted the move delays the swearing-in of Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva of Arizona, a Democrat whose addition could alter the balance on procedural votes, including one tied to the release of records on the late Jeffrey Epstein.
“Speaker Johnson has canceled votes next week so House Republicans can continue their vacation, depriving Americans of affordable healthcare, preventing the swearing-in of Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, and stopping the release of the Epstein Files,” Jeffries said.
“Meanwhile, the government remains closed and healthcare costs are going up for millions of Americans,” he added. “It’s time for Republicans to get back to work so we can reopen the government, cancel the cuts, lower the cost, and save healthcare.”
President Donald Trump has voiced support for the GOP strategy, emphasizing Republican leverage in the standoff. With no resolution in sight, both parties are bracing for more shutdown politics in Washington.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
