Johnson keeps House out for 6th straight week to pressure Schumer on shutdown

Speaker Mike Johnson is increasing the pressure on Senate Democrats by keeping the House of Representatives out of session for the sixth consecutive week.

The ongoing government shutdown is the second-longest in history and is less than a week away from setting another record, with the 2018-2019 shutdown lasting nearly 35 days.

Senate Democrats have rejected the GOP’s short-term federal funding plan 13 times, and while some glimmers of hope for compromise are beginning to appear, leaders on both sides of the aisle have signaled no leeway from their positions.

Meanwhile, critical programs that millions of American families rely on are expected to run out of funding this weekend; The Senate will leave Washington by Monday after once again failing to pass the funding bill.

BATTLEGROUND REPUBLICANS HOLD THE LINE AS JOHNSON PRESSED THE DEMS FOR A SHUTDOWN

Federal dollars for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are expected to run out starting Saturday; That means the nearly 42 million Americans who rely on food stamps could begin to see those benefits temporarily disappear.

Funding for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program, which provides support to pregnant mothers and children under 5, is in danger of running out, even though the Trump administration moved to provide funding earlier this month.

The Head Start program, which funds child care for low-income families with young children, also looks set to run out of money this weekend.

The Republicans’ measure, called a continuing resolution (CR), is a mostly fixed seven-week extension of current federal funding levels. It also includes $88 million in security funding for lawmakers, the White House and the judiciary, which has bipartisan support.

But Democrats in the House and Senate were outraged at not being involved in federal funding talks.

SCREAMING MATCH BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES AND MIKE LAWLER IS AIRING AS THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES

Senator Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) speaks with reporters near his office on Capitol Hill in Washington on September 18, 2025. (Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo)

They are pushing for an extension of Obamacare subsidies, which were increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. These developments will expire at the end of 2025 without congressional action.

Republican leaders have signaled they are open to discussions about reforming and improving health care credits, but they are rejecting Democrats’ request to include them in the CR.

Democrats hope the open enrollment start date, which also comes on Saturday, could force Republicans to concede.

Johnson has kept Parliament out of session since September 19, when he passed the bill. Democrats criticized the move almost daily, accusing the GOP leader of keeping Republicans on “vacation” while the government is shut down.

But Johnson argued that the House could not continue its work until Democrats ended the shutdown. Instead, he instructed Republicans to stay in their districts to communicate the effects of the shutdown and help their constituents better manage it.

The government shut down because Congress could not reach an agreement on federal funding. (Getty Images)

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The vast majority of House Republicans remained unanimous on the strategy, but as the shutdown dragged on, cracks began to appear.

Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., Fox News Digital said. and Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, cast doubt on the plan with varying degrees of disappointment during a call with House GOP lawmakers on Tuesday.

Greene and Kiley have been outspoken in their criticism of Johnson’s strategy for weeks, but Crenshaw appears to be the latest GOP lawmaker to voice doubts.

“I am no longer convinced that staying out of session provides benefits beyond the costs,” Crenshaw said in a statement to Fox News Digital.