Friday, October 10, 2025

Mike Johnson's shutdown squeeze

House Speaker Mike Johnson’s luck seems to have finally run out amid the government shutdown fight.

He is now facing immense pressure from Democrats and even some of his Republican colleagues in the House and Senate, as he has kept the House out of session since September.

Johnson ostensibly did this after the House passed a stopgap spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, expecting Democrats and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to blink in the same way they did in March.

Every day for the past week, Johnson has gathered reporters to hold press conferences and place the blame on Schumer and Democrats for keeping the government shut down.

It hasn’t worked that way this time. Rather, Democrats have rejected the “clean” continuing resolution and have demanded that any continuing resolution include an extension of enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act’s health care marketplace. And Johnson is hearing people’s anger.

When he appeared on C-SPAN on Thursday, a Republican military spouse from Virginia called to criticize him for not putting forward legislation to ensure military pay.

In response, Johnson deflected the blame to Democrats and said Schumer would “hold that up in the Senate.”

But now he’s even facing criticism in his own party on the House side. Some Republicans have floated the idea of a one-year extension of the health care tax credits, which Democrats have rejected.

Meanwhile, Marjorie Taylor Greene lit into Johnson and Republican leadership for the lack of a plan to deal with health care premiums potentially doubling.

Read more here.

By Eric Garcia

Reading list

Daily briefing

Trump’s long threatened shutdown layoffs have started, Russell Vought says

The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to punish federal workers with mass layoffs in order to force Democrats to end to the government shutdown, Andrew Feinberg reports. 

Don’t forget to complete your registration

You haven’t completed your registration with The Independent. It’s free, quick, and helps support our journalism while tailoring your experience.

Register now to enjoy benefits including access to limited Premium articles, The Independent app, more than 20 newsletters and commenting on independent.co.uk.

Complete your registration today to unlock access.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

It’s categorically false.

Chicago Presbyterian minister Rev. David Black in response to claims from the Department of Homeland Security's claims about the events leading up to him being hit by ICE's pepper bullets. 

What else you need to know

Join the conversation and follow us