Congress

Mike Johnson says House can end government shutdown ‘by Tuesday’

Published

9 months ago

February 1, 2026

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he is confident Congress can end the partial government shutdown “by Tuesday” despite steep opposition from Democrats and turmoil within the GOP conference.

Johnson is under pressure to unite his caucus, with lawmakers raising concerns about funding for the Department of Homeland Security as the Trump administration faces scrutiny over its nationwide immigration crackdown that has at times turned violent.

House Republicans are hoping to take up the $1.2 trillion funding package passed by the Senate on Tuesday following a House Rules Committee meeting Monday. The partial shutdown began early Saturday.

GOP leadership in the House originally hoped to pass the bill under suspension of the rules, an expedited process that requires a two-thirds-majority vote, but Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Johnson on Saturday that Democrats would not help Republicans acquire the necessary support for the spending bill.

“I’m confident that we’ll do it at least by Tuesday,” Johnson said in a Sunday interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We have a logistical challenge of getting everyone in town, and because of the conversation I had with Hakeem Jeffries, I know that we’ve got to pass a rule and probably do this mostly on our own. I think that’s very unfortunate.”

The Senate voted Friday to pass a compromise spending package after Senate Democrats struck a deal with President Donald Trump to extend DHS funding for two weeks. The move bought Congress more time to work out a compromise on reforms for Immigration and Customs Enforcement after federal officers fatally shot two people in Minnesota earlier this month.

Speaking to host Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press,” Johnson acknowledged that “there’s been tragedies in Minnesota” — but he also blamed Democrats in the state for “inciting violence,” even as the Trump administration attempts to tamp down pressures in the state.

Johnson praised Trump’s decision to send White House border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis, a step widely seen as a deescalation from the aggressive tactics favored by Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino.

“[Trump] was right to deputize him over that situation,” he said of Homan on NBC. “He has 40 years of experience in Border Patrol and these issues. So I think that this is going to happen, but we need good faith on both sides. Some of these conditions and requests that they’ve made are obviously reasonable and should happen. But others are going to require a lot more negotiation.”

Johnson pushed back in particular on Democratic calls to bar federal immigration enforcement officers from wearing masks and require them to wear identification, telling Fox’s Shannon Bream: “Those two things are conditions that would create further danger.”

He also signaled an unwillingness to negotiate on Democratic demands to tighten requirements for judicial warrants for immigration operations.

Still, House Democrats remained opposed to passing the funding package as is, with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) saying Sunday: “I’m not just a no. I’m a firm no.”

“I just don’t see how in good conscience Democrats can vote for continuing ICE funding when they’re killing American citizens, when there’s no provision to repeal the tripling of the budget,” Khanna said in a Sunday interview with Welker on NBC. “I hope my colleagues will say no.”

Jeffries also signaled Sunday that a wide gap remains between his conference and House Republicans, telling ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that the House must reach an agreement on judicial warrants “as a condition of moving forward.”

“The one thing that we’ve said publicly is that we need a robust path toward dramatic reform,” Jeffries said on ABC’s “This Week.” “The administration can’t just talk the talk, they need to walk the walk. That should begin today. Not in two weeks, today.”

Congress

Sanders warns Democrats about spending too much time investigating Trump

Published

7 hours ago

November 8, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday applauded the Democrats’ midterm victories but warned the incoming majority against spending too much time investigating President Donald Trump.

In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the Vermont progressive said holding the Trump administration “accountable” is important — but addressing affordability must take priority.

“We cannot spend all of our time investigating Trump,” Sanders said. “We’ve got to stand up for working-class families, make a real difference in their lives.”

Democrats ran on a message of affordability ahead of the midterms, knocking the Trump administration for sky-high gas and grocery prices, the cost of living and rising healthcare costs. But they also vowed to investigate administration officials; incoming House Oversight Committee leader Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) on Sunday warned that Democrats could investigate everything from pardons Trump made earlier in his second term to Trump allies including Elon Musk and the president’s newly appointed chief of staff Stephen Miller.

Still, Sanders on Sunday said the election was about more than just Americans wanting to tackle the Trump administration’s “corruption and illegal, unconstitutional actions.”

“What I think this election was about, is the American people not only expressing disgust with Trump and his policies, but are demanding real change, no more tinkering around the edges,” said Sanders. “And what the American people are saying: Look, we are working long hours. We’re worried about our kids. We can’t afford healthcare. We can’t afford housing.”

But Sanders, who serves on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), also told BLN’s “State of the Union” that he would be “open” to a proposal by Sen.-elect Annie Andrews (D-S.C.) to impeach Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

“At the very least, I think, he is the most dangerous secretary of the HHS in history and he needs to be held accountable,” said Sanders. “We’re going to bring him before the committee, that’s for sure, and ask him some tough questions that have not been asked of him previously.”

And though Sanders accused Trump of being “erratic,” he added that the president is “a good politician” that Democrats may be able to work with.

“I think, when Trump looks out in the world and he sees millions of people working for starvation wages, he might not be unsympathetic to raising the minimum wage to a living wage,” said Sanders. “He would love, I think, to take credit for doing what every other major country does: guaranteeing healthcare to all people.”

Congress

Rep. Robert Garcia: ‘The days of us not fighting back are over’

Published

7 hours ago

November 8, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee vowed Sunday to lead a series of probes into Trump administration officials, telling BLN’s “State of the Union” that Democratic leaders will no longer “take the high road.”

“When Republicans go low, what we’re not going to do anymore is just take that, take the high road and turn the other cheek,” said Rep. Robert Garcia. “The days of us not fighting back are over.”

Following his party’s decisive midterm wins, the California Democrat formally announced his bid to chair the Oversight Committee in a letter to colleagues Thursday.

The bid comes after Garcia warned members of the Trump administration and others to “lawyer up.” On Sunday, he added that even members of the president’s family — such as President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump, Jr., and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner — could “absolutely” be subjects of the committee’s investigations.

“They should be expected to answer questions,” Garcia said.

He also indicated that pardons Trump made earlier in his second term could be investigated, as well as donors helping finance the president’s White House ballroom; the operation into the removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro; the Iran war; and Trump allies including Elon Musk and the president’s newly appointed chief of staff Stephen Miller.

Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday accused Garcia and other Democratic leaders of “outright threats” and condemned the promised probes of “basically every member of the Cabinet,” including Miller.

“You have members of Congress who, after Tuesday, have done nothing but threaten everything that’s happening in this administration. That is not governing, that is not leading, that is not oversight,” Blanche said in an interview immediately preceding Garcia’s. “That’s actually a disappointment. And it’s sad.”

Blanche on Sunday appeared to indicate the Justice Department could investigate Democratic members at the behest of Trump, who has called Democratic leaders extortionists and, on multiple occasions, called for them to be jailed.

“What Todd Blanche is doing right now is a threat,” said Garcia. “He is threatening our committee. He’s trying to stop us from doing real oversight.”

Congress

Johnson’s meeting request

Published

2 days ago

November 6, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Ron Johnson is sending a letter Monday requesting a conference meeting to discuss the midterm results and a delay in the leadership election.

Johnson has gathered enough signatures to force the meeting under the Senate GOP’s rules and is proposing the gathering for 9 a.m. Tuesday.

“Tuesday’s result was a stunning defeat,” Johnson and his backers write in the letter to Conference Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO. “Holding leadership elections without engaging in a robust discussion and evaluation of how those running for leadership intend to lead would be political malpractice”

Republicans still expect their leadership election to be held Tuesday, where Majority Leader John Thune is so far unopposed to lead the party next year in the minority.