As the government shutdown stretched into its tenth day on October 10, 2025, the halls of the U.S. Capitol remained unusually quiet. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) made it clear: the House would not reconvene until the Senate acted to end the impasse, a move that has sparked outrage from Democratic lawmakers and left millions of Americans facing mounting uncertainty.
"We will come back, and get back to legislative session, as soon as the Senate Democrats turn the lights back on," Johnson told reporters in the Capitol, according to Nexstar Media Inc. The House had already canceled votes on September 29 and 30, as well as all sessions for the week of October 6. Now, with votes planned for October 14 through 17 also scrapped, the earliest the House might return is October 20.
This extended recess, Johnson insists, is not a political maneuver but a practical necessity. He argued that lawmakers are more useful in their home districts, helping constituents weather the shutdown’s effects. “This is not a strategy call to keep the House working in their districts right now,” Johnson said, emphasizing the "urgent necessity" of their presence at home. He pointed to a $50 billion fund enacted over the summer—part of what he called President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill”—meant to support rural hospitals facing Medicaid cuts.
But Democrats aren’t buying it. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) minced no words: “House Republicans canceled votes last week. House Republicans canceled votes this week. House Republicans appear ready to cancel votes next week,” Jeffries said outside the Capitol, according to Axios. “These people are not serious about reopening the government.”
The shutdown’s consequences are beginning to bite. The Trump administration has announced layoffs, and military service members are set to miss their first paychecks on October 15. Johnson, however, has refused calls for a standalone vote to ensure troop pay, arguing that the House already passed a stopgap spending bill last month that included those provisions. “We already had that vote,” Johnson said, dismissing Democratic efforts to bring the matter back to the floor.
On October 10, Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.) tried during a brief pro forma session to pass a bill by unanimous consent that would guarantee troop pay during the shutdown. She was blocked by Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), who gaveled the House out of session. “I’m here, I know a number of my colleagues are here, ready and willing to take that up if we can’t reach a bipartisan deal on the budget. So that’s what I tried to do,” Elfreth told reporters.
Meanwhile, House Democrats are regrouping. Jeffries instructed his caucus to return to Washington next week, with an in-person meeting scheduled for Tuesday evening and further events on Capitol Hill the following day. According to Axios, Jeffries also pointed to polling that shows Republicans taking the blame for the shutdown—a sign that Democrats are not inclined to budge.
The frustration among Democrats is palpable. House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) said, “Showing up for work and helping constituents is not for 'show,' as Mike Johnson likes to say.” Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) went further: “The government is shutdown and Johnson wants his members on vacation. It’s disgraceful.” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) questioned whether Republicans were even engaging with their constituents, quipping, “Who’s writing their talking points—Marie Antoinette?”
For members who represent federal workers and military families, the stakes are especially high. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) wrote to Johnson expressing "extreme concern" about the canceled votes, citing "very real consequences for working families in my state of Delaware, your state of Louisiana, and across the country." Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) echoed those worries: “Speaker Johnson’s decision hurts the thousands of military servicemembers, contractors, and federal workers in my district who continue to show up to work while they aren’t paid.”
Johnson, for his part, has repeatedly blamed Democrats for the stalemate. On October 10, he told CBS News, “Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are playing politics with the lives of real American people. He’s getting accolades right now from the far left. That was the whole objective. They had to appease the Marxist base of the Democrat Party, and so they pick this fight right now. It is absurd.”
He maintains that the House, three weeks prior, passed a clean continuing resolution (CR) to pay troops, federal workers, and keep the government open. “The ball is in the Senate’s court. That’s where the duty must be done now,” Johnson argued on Fox News. He accused Senate Democrats of blocking the GOP-led stopgap bill seven times in two weeks, resulting in 2 million civilian employees and 1.3 million active-duty military service members facing missed paychecks.
Johnson has not shied away from highlighting the shutdown’s impact on everyday Americans. He cited disruptions to health services, nutrition programs for mothers and infants, FEMA’s inability to issue flood insurance policies during hurricane season, and flight cancellations due to TSA funding gaps. “Real harm to real people,” Johnson said. “We’re hearing it from our constituents. The House Republicans right now are in their districts working, trying to help people through this crisis that’s being created by the Democrats.”
In a controversial turn, Johnson also accused Democrats of delaying a resolution until after the "No Kings Day" protest scheduled for October 18—a rally opposing President Trump and his administration. He claimed, without offering evidence, that some Democrats were waiting to appease their base before reopening the government. “They chose this moment to put up a fight against President Trump because they have derangement syndrome, and it’s very real, and to show that they’re fighting Republicans,” Johnson said. “For what?! For what?! They’re hurting the American people, and I’ve just had it.”
Democrats, meanwhile, have sought to keep the pressure on, with Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) proposing a change to House rules that would require the chamber to remain in session during any government shutdown. “Everyone knows Democrats are taking a principled stand here,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told Axios. “Johnson is afraid that his members will turn on him if they come back to town.”
With no sign of compromise, the standoff appears set to continue, leaving federal workers, military families, and millions of Americans in limbo as political leaders trade blame and dig in their heels.
The shutdown’s ripple effects are already being felt far beyond Washington, and with each passing day, the cost—both human and political—continues to mount.
