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House Republicans Keep Quiet as Shutdown Crisis Deepens
Mike Johnson's decision to keep the House out of session may have been intended to avoid contentious legislation, but instead, his leadership is being undermined by internal dissent among GOP lawmakers. The strategy has backfired, leaving Democrats in a stronger position and undermining the Republican party's talking points.
The House has only been in session for 20 days this year, the lowest since World War II, with less than 80 days of legislative activity in over three months. Johnson's team claims that because the House passed a short-term funding bill, it's up to Senate Democrats to end the shutdown. However, critics argue that Republicans are shirking their responsibility by staying out of town.
The White House has been sending mixed messages about the cause of the shutdown, blaming Democrats while also using it as an excuse to fire thousands of federal employees. Meanwhile, Democrats seem to be winning the messaging war, with a growing number of Republican lawmakers criticizing Johnson's strategy.
The decision to keep the House out of session has also hurt efforts to address expiring subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans. The enhanced premium tax credits are set to expire at the end of 2025, but without a fix in place before December, millions of people will face dramatic premium increases next year or be forced to forgo coverage altogether.
Furthermore, Johnson's attempt to delay the swearing-in of Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva of Arizona has deepened suspicions that the White House is hiding something. The Epstein files, which were meant to be released through a discharge petition, are now being held up by Republican efforts to derail the bill.
As the situation continues to deteriorate, it's clear that Johnson and other Republican leaders need to take responsibility for their party's actions. Staying out of session and avoiding contentious issues won't be sustainable in the long term, and Democrats are seizing on the opportunity to further erode Republican credibility.
Mike Johnson's decision to keep the House out of session may have been intended to avoid contentious legislation, but instead, his leadership is being undermined by internal dissent among GOP lawmakers. The strategy has backfired, leaving Democrats in a stronger position and undermining the Republican party's talking points.
The House has only been in session for 20 days this year, the lowest since World War II, with less than 80 days of legislative activity in over three months. Johnson's team claims that because the House passed a short-term funding bill, it's up to Senate Democrats to end the shutdown. However, critics argue that Republicans are shirking their responsibility by staying out of town.
The White House has been sending mixed messages about the cause of the shutdown, blaming Democrats while also using it as an excuse to fire thousands of federal employees. Meanwhile, Democrats seem to be winning the messaging war, with a growing number of Republican lawmakers criticizing Johnson's strategy.
The decision to keep the House out of session has also hurt efforts to address expiring subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans. The enhanced premium tax credits are set to expire at the end of 2025, but without a fix in place before December, millions of people will face dramatic premium increases next year or be forced to forgo coverage altogether.
Furthermore, Johnson's attempt to delay the swearing-in of Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva of Arizona has deepened suspicions that the White House is hiding something. The Epstein files, which were meant to be released through a discharge petition, are now being held up by Republican efforts to derail the bill.
As the situation continues to deteriorate, it's clear that Johnson and other Republican leaders need to take responsibility for their party's actions. Staying out of session and avoiding contentious issues won't be sustainable in the long term, and Democrats are seizing on the opportunity to further erode Republican credibility.