NEW: Mike Johnson Shares Update On Government Shutdown

On day 29 of the government shutdown, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) shot down the idea of dragging lawmakers back to Washington before the Senate acts on its own spending bill — calling the idea a “futile exercise” while ripping his Democrat colleagues’ “misguided” shutdown strategy.

“If I brought the House back, and we passed another CR, it would meet the exact same fate with Chuck Schumer. He would mock it, they would spike it, and they would try to blame it on us. So what’s the point?” Johnson told reporters on Wednesday.

The House hasn’t voted since Sept. 19, when it passed a clean stopgap bill to keep the lights on through Nov. 21. Johnson hinted he’s ready to let that deadline slide right by, daring the Democrat-run Senate to produce something new.

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Last week, he told Axios that Republicans are taking things “day-by-day” when it comes to deciding the next move. “It was calculated to allow enough time to finish the job,” he said of the November deadline. “It is going to be more and more difficult with each passing hour to get all the appropriations done on time.”

For five weeks, Johnson has stood by his assertion that the House has “done its job.” Meanwhile, the Senate this week failed for the 14th time to pass the House’s continuing resolution, with no sign that either side plans to blink.

Even if the Senate moved today, the measure would only buy three more weeks before the next spending showdown — hardly enough time to pass full-year appropriations.

At some point, it won’t make sense for Senate Majority Leader John Thune to keep forcing doomed votes on the House’s bill as the Nov. 21 cliff looms.

Johnson, meanwhile, bristled at the media’s fixation on the House’s extended recess instead of the shutdown’s toll. “You guys are writing more about the House calendar than the real pain that’s being inflicted on the American people,” he said.

Some Republicans are losing patience with the Speaker’s strategy, venting on a private call Tuesday about being sidelined while the shutdown drags on.

Democrats — and a few GOP voices — argue that lawmakers could be back in D.C. working on full-year funding instead of cooling their heels in their home districts.

But Johnson closed the door on that suggestion with one final jab: “It doesn’t matter what we do in the House. It doesn’t matter what we pass.”