JUST IN: Speaker Johnson Makes Shrewd Maneuver To Keep Shutdown Pressure On Schumer, Senate

Speaker Mike Johnson is turning up the heat on Senate Democrats by keeping the House of Representatives out of session for a sixth straight week.

The shutdown, now the second-longest in U.S. history, is days away from breaking the 35-day record set in 2018-2019. And with no deal in sight, millions of Americans could start feeling the pain.

Senate Democrats have now swatted down House Republicans’ short-term funding bill 13 times. A few faint signs of compromise are emerging, but neither party’s leaders are blinking.

Instead, the Senate packed up and left town until Monday — after once again failing to move a funding bill — as key programs begin running out of money this weekend.

Support for 42 million Americans on food stamps could start drying up Saturday, when federal dollars for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are expected to run out. Women, Infants, and Children benefits are also at risk, despite the Trump administration shifting money earlier this month to keep it afloat. The Head Start program, which helps low-income families with young children, is staring at the same cliff.

Republicans’ plan — a clean, seven-week extension of current spending levels plus $88 million to protect lawmakers, the White House, and the judiciary — has bipartisan support on security grounds. But Democrats are furious they were shut out of negotiations.

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Their big ask: keep pandemic-era Obamacare subsidy boosts that expire at the end of 2025. GOP leaders say they’re open to debating reforms later, but won’t stuff them into a stopgap bill.

Democrats have been betting the Saturday kickoff of open enrollment would force Republicans to cave. So far, Johnson isn’t budging.

Johnson has kept the House home since Sept. 19, over loud Democratic complaints that Republicans are “on vacation” while the government is shuttered. Johnson argues it’s the Senate Democrats who need to act first. He’s directed GOP lawmakers to stay in their districts, warn voters about the impacts, and help them navigate the fallout.

Most House Republicans are sticking with him. But frustration is bubbling. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., and Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, all questioned the strategy on a private GOP call Tuesday, according to Fox News Digital.

The clock is ticking — and Johnson’s gamble is that Democrats blink before families start feeling the squeeze.

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