The longest government shutdown in history could conclude as soon as today, Day 43, after Speaker Mike Johnson called House representatives back into session after a nearly eight-week absence.
The House is scheduled to take up a bill to reopen the government that the Senate passed on Monday night. President Donald Trump called the measure a “very big victory,” and it’s expected to pass the Republican-led chamber. But the prospect of travel delays due to the shutdown could complicate the vote. Speaker Mike Johnson may need nearly perfect attendance from fellow Republicans to get the measure over the finish line.
The House has not been in legislative session since Sept. 19. Johnson sent lawmakers home after that vote and put the onus on the Senate to act, saying House Republicans did their job.
Yet even as the possibility of an end to the shutdown draws near, almost no one will be satisfied. Democrats didn’t get the health insurance provisions they demanded added to the spending deal. And Republicans, who control the levers of power in Washington, didn’t escape blame, according to polls and some state and local elections that went poorly for them.
Other news we’re following:
- Newest House member to be sworn in, paving the way for an Epstein files vote: Democrat Adelita Grijalva will be sworn in nearly seven weeks after winning a special election in Arizona. Speaker Johnson had refused to seat her until the chamber reconvened. Grijalva and other Democrats said the delay was intended to prevent her signature on a petition to trigger a vote to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
- 8 senators broke with Democrats on the government shutdown deal: The senators faced almost instant blowback from their own party as they broke ranks and voted to allow the Senate to move forward on compromise legislation. The group consisted of several senators who are retiring next year, as well as a number of former governors. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana praised them Monday morning, saying they “decided to put principle over their personal politics.”
- Supreme Court extends its order blocking full SNAP payments: The order keeps in place, at least for a few more days, a chaotic situation, comes with no explanation on the court’s thinking and will expire just before midnight Thursday. People who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to feed their families in some states have received their full monthly allocations, while others have received nothing.
