House GOP leaders are under increasing pressure to return the chamber to Washington while the shutdown battle shows no end in sight.
A growing number of Republican lawmakers are voicing frustration that their leadership has extended the House recess, warning that the optics of this inactivity could backfire on the party to Democrats’ advantage.
The rumblings are a headache for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his leadership team, who have made nullifying votes a central part of Republicans’ shutdown strategy. They are betting that an empty House of Representatives will put pressure on Senate Democrats to abandon their opposition to a Republican spending bill and lend a hand reopen the government.
But as the shutdown entered its second week, neither side gave an inch, resulting in federal workers receiving reduced paychecks Friday and a similar drop in pay for military personnel at risk of missing their first scheduled paycheck next Wednesday.
Those pressure points have only increased calls within the GOP conference for Johnson to reconvene the chamber, if only to pass legislation ensuring troops are compensated.
“Military salaries should not be held hostage because of Washington’s dysfunction!” Rep. Jen Kiggans, a Virginia Republican who represents the massive Norfolk Naval Base, wrote this week on X.
Kiggans, the lead sponsor of legislation to pay troops during the shutdown, called on Johnson and GOP leaders to pass their bill “immediately.” And she cited a powerful advocate in President Trump who said Congress would “likely” pass legislation to prevent delays in those payments.
“The president has made it clear: We have to pay our troops,” Kiggans said.
She is hardly alone.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said this week that Johnson should bring the House back to Washington “for many reasons.” But the Georgia firebrand pointed specifically to the issue of health care premiums, which are expected to skyrocket by year’s end when expanded subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) expire. Greene is the infrequent Republican to call on GOP leaders to address the problem immediately to prevent patients from being “simply destroyed.”
“Any serious speaker of the House of Representatives will build consensus within their conference on a plan.” Greene told CNN. “It’s no secret what a committee is working on.”
House Republicans held a conference-wide conference call Thursday, where several Republican lawmakers also expressed frustration with the leadership strategy, which has called for the cancellation of all votes since Sept. 29. Those numbers raised concerns that keeping the House in recess during the shutdown could look bad for Republicans, a source said on the call. Dissenters included Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.), Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) and Julie Fedorchak (R-N.D.). MSNBC reported this week.
Other Republicans who sided with Kiggans made it clear that they want GOP leaders to address the issue of military pay, the source said.
Johnson, for his part, has sent mixed messages on the issue. On Tuesday, the speaker indicated he was willing to support a standalone bill to pay troops and air traffic controllers, even as other parts of the government remained closed.
“I’m definitely open to that,” he said. “We’ve done that in the past. We want to make sure our troops are paid.”
But the idea is being rejected by Senate Republican leaders who are hoping to maximize pressure on Senate Democrats to support Republicans’ short-term spending bill, which would fund all branches of the federal government, including the military. And Johnson quickly changed his mind, rejecting a standalone Pentagon bill and saying that if Democrats want to fund the military, they should support the larger package.
“We have voted to pay the troops so many times. We have already done it. We did it in the House three weeks ago,” Johnson told reporters at the Capitol on Friday. “The ball is in the Senate Democrats’ court right now. That’s all.”
Democrats have criticized that argument as they call for bipartisan talks on the expiring ObamaCare subsidies. But in recent days they have been joined by Republican lawmakers who also question Johnson’s dovish approach.
Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) was one who publicly disputed Johnson’s claim that the House has “already done our job.”
“No, the House passed a seven-week continuing resolution.” Kiley posted on X on Wednesday. “The only reason a CR is necessary is because Congress has failed to do its job in passing a timely budget. The Speaker should not even consider canceling the session for a third week in a row.”
Two days later, Johnson canceled votes for a third week in a row.
The speaker has suggested there is a way to ensure troops are paid without bringing back House Democrats: Trump could do it unilaterally.
“The executive branch, the president, is working on ways to make sure the troops are paid,” Johnson said during Friday’s news conference.
Such a move would ease some of the pressure on Congress to end the shutdown. But it would not resolve the stalemate over reopening the government, nor would it ease the fears of rank-and-file Republicans eager to return to the Capitol to show voters they are fighting the good fight.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chairman of the powerful House Budget Committee, had predicted these concerns in September, on the last day of the House session before the shutdown.
“I hope we come back,” Cole said at the time. “Our leaders have to make this decision, but I plan to be back.
“I don’t think it’s nice to be at home when the government is shutting down.”
