Overview
- The House remains on an extended recess in the fourth week of the shutdown, with Speaker Mike Johnson refusing to reconvene until the Senate passes a government funding bill.
- The impasse centers on Democrats’ push to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that Republicans and the president oppose.
- At a Monday press conference, Johnson insisted Democrats must reopen the government and framed the Senate’s 60‑vote threshold as the obstacle despite unified Republican control.
- A 2023 procedural shift removed the need for a House vote to authorize long breaks, enabling the speaker to impose an indefinite recess that critics say marginalizes Congress.
- Johnson has declined to seat Representative‑elect Adelita Grijalva, who has sued to be sworn in, as GOP dissent grows and Trump’s influence is highlighted by a reported private quip that he is “the speaker and the president.”