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As a critical legislative deadline draws closer, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he does not see “the point” of calling the chamber back to session. A reporter on Wednesday asked Johnson whether he would recall the House in November to craft a new funding bill. The House-passed continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the government through Nov. 21 has repeatedly failed to reach the 60-vote threshold required to pass in the Senate, as millions of American remain cut off from federal benefits programs. “Wouldn’t that be a futile exercise when we have a CR that’s been sitting over there since September 19,” Johnson said Wednesday as the shutdown entered its 28th day. “If I brought the house back and we passed another CR it would meet the exact same fate from Chuck Schumer. He would mock it. They would spike it. And they would try to blame it on us. So what would be the point of that?” Senate Democrats have pressed their Republican colleagues to address rising health insurance premiums and extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits for millions of Americans before they expire at the end of the year. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) have argued that the funding bill must include an extension of the COVID-era subsidies that reduced costs for millions of Americans on ACA plans. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has said he is willing to open discussions with Democrats about extending ACA subsidies — once the government is reopened. But Thune’s offer has not swayed enough Senate Democrats to vote for the funding bill. “We want the shutdown to end too,” Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said Tuesday, according to The Hill. “But fundamentally, if Trump and Republicans continue to refuse to negotiate with us to figure out how to lower health care costs, we’re in the same place that we’ve always been.” Johnson on Wednesday said he is “concerned about the timing” as the Nov. 21 deadline nears, but still had no plans to recall the House to craft a new funding bill. “We’re all concerned about the timing,” Johnson said. “The Democrats are eating up the clock. We have very important work to do here. And that’s why we’re pleading with them. Look, I think Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are irredeemable at this point.”
