After keeping the U.S. House shuttered for nearly eight weeks during the longest government shutdown in history, Speaker Mike Johnson
After keeping the U.S. House shuttered for nearly eight weeks during the longest government shutdown in history, Speaker Mike Johnson is recalling lawmakers back to Washington — and they are bringing a wave of pent-up frustrations and unfinished business.
According to The Associated Press, hundreds of representatives are set to return on Wednesday, carrying proposals, complaints, and legislative priorities that stalled while Johnson refused to convene the chamber.
First on the agenda: a vote to reopen the government. But other pressing matters — including releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files and swearing in Arizona Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva — will test the speaker’s authority and leadership.
“It’s extraordinary,” said Matthew Green, a politics professor at The Catholic University of America. “What Speaker Johnson and Republicans are doing, you have to go back decades to find an example where the House — either chamber — decided not to meet.
