Johnson: Govt Shutdown Could be Longest10/14 06:19

   Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted Monday the federal 
government shutdown may become the longest in history, saying he "won't 
negotiate" with Democrats until they hit pause on their health care demands and 
reopen.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted Monday 
the federal government shutdown may become the longest in history, saying he 
"won't negotiate" with Democrats until they hit pause on their health care 
demands and reopen.

   Standing alone at the Capitol on the 13th day of the shutdown, the speaker 
said he was unaware of the details of the thousands of federal workers being 
fired by the Trump administration. It's a highly unusual mass layoff widely 
seen as way to seize on the shutdown to reduce the scope of government. Vice 
President JD Vance has warned of "painful" cuts ahead, even as employee unions 
sue.

   "We're barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history," 
Johnson of Louisiana said.

   With no endgame in sight, the shutdown is expected to roll on for the 
unforeseeable future. The closure has halted routine government operations, 
shuttered Smithsonian museums and other landmark cultural institutions and left 
airports scrambling with flight disruptions, all injecting more uncertainty 
into an already precarious economy.

   The House is out of legislative session, with Johnson refusing to recall 
lawmakers back to Washington, while the Senate, closed Monday for the federal 
holiday, will return to work Tuesday. But senators are stuck in a cul-de-sac of 
failed votes as Democrats refuse to relent on their health care demands.

   Johnson thanked President Donald Trump for ensuring military personnel are 
paid this week, which removed one main pressure point that may have pushed the 
parties to the negotiating table. The Coast Guard is also receiving pay, a 
senior administration official confirmed Monday. The official insisted on 
anonymity to discuss plans that have yet to be formally rolled out.

   At its core, the shutdown is a debate over health care policy -- 
particularly the Affordable Care Act subsidies that are expiring for millions 
of Americans who rely on government aid to purchase their own health insurance 
policies on the Obamacare exchanges. Democrats demand the subsidies be 
extended, but Republicans argue the issue can be dealt with later.

   House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said with Republicans having 
essentially shut down the chamber now for a fourth week, no real negotiations 
are underway. They're "nowhere to be found," he said on MSNBC.

   With Congress and the White House stalemated, some are eyeing the end of the 
month as the next potential deadline to reopen government.

   Open enrollment begins Nov. 1 for the health program at issue, and Americans 
will face the prospect of skyrocketing insurance premiums. The Kaiser Family 
Foundation has estimated that monthly costs would double if Congress fails to 
renew the subsidy payments that expire Dec. 31.

   At the end of October, government workers on monthly pay schedules, 
including thousands of House aides, will go without paychecks.

   A persistent issue

   The health care debate has dogged Congress ever since the Affordable Care 
Act became law under then-President Barack Obama in 2010.

   The country went through a 16-day government shutdown during the Obama 
presidency when Republicans tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2013.

   Trump tried to "repeal and replace" the law, commonly known as Obamacare, 
during his first term, in 2017, with a Republican majority in the House and 
Senate. That effort failed when then-Sen. John McCain memorably voted 
thumbs-down on the plan.

   With 24 million now enrolled in Obamacare, a record, Johnson said Monday 
that Republicans are unlikely to go that route again, noting he still has 
"PTSD" from that botched moment.

   "Can we completely repeal and replace Obamacare? Many of us are skeptical 
about that now because the roots are so deep," Johnson said.

   The Republican speaker insists his party has been willing to discuss the 
health care issue with Democrats this fall, before the subsidies expire at the 
end of the year. But first, he said, Democrats have to agree to reopen the 
government.

   The longest shutdown, during Trump's first term over his demands for funds 
to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall, ended in 2019 after 35 days.

   Meanwhile, the Trump administration is exercising vast leeway both to fire 
workers -- drawing complaints from fellow Republicans and lawsuits from 
employee unions -- and to determine who is paid.

   That means not only military troops but other Trump administration 
priorities don't necessarily have to go without pay, thanks to the various 
other funding sources as well as the billions made available in Trump's One Big 
Beautiful Bill Act, which is now law.

   The Pentagon said over the weekend it was able to tap $8 billion in unused 
research and development funds to pay the military personnel. They had risked 
missed paychecks on Wednesday. But the Education Department is among those 
being hard hit, disrupting special education, after-school programs and others.

   "The Administration also could decide to use mandatory funding provided in 
the 2025 reconciliation act or other sources of mandatory funding to continue 
activities financed by those direct appropriations at various agencies," 
according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

   The CBO had cited the departments of Defense, Treasury and Homeland Security 
and the Office of Management and Budget as among those that received specific 
funds under the law.

   "Some of the funds in DoD's direct appropriation under the 2025 
reconciliation act could be used to pay active-duty personnel during a 
shutdown, thus reducing the number of excepted workers who would receive 
delayed compensation," CBO wrote in a letter responding to questions raised by 
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.