WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson once again reiterated Friday he’s not bringing the House back to Washington as the federal government shutdown continues.

Rep. Kevin Kiley objects.

The California Republican, in a rare act of defying the Republican leadership, has been calling on Johnson to bring the House back.

“The Speaker shouldn’t even think about cancelling session for a third straight week,” Kiley said Thursday on X.

Wednesday, he tweeted, “The House needs to return to session. It’s absurd to be cancelling weeks of legislative business when the government is shut down and Congress hasn’t enacted a budget in 19 months.”

And at the end of last week, he protested the House’s absence this week.

“I strongly disagree with the decision to cancel session for the second straight week. Americans expect us to be working in every possible way to end the shutdown — and to pass actual Appropriations bills so we’re not in this exact same position in six weeks,” Kiley said.

After Johnson spoke Friday, Kiley tweeted that he’ll be returning to Washington next week. “My door is open to anyone interested in making sure our troops get paid or working on everything else the House is neglecting,” he tweeted. “I’m also declining a paycheck until the shutdown is over.”

No immediate plans to bring back the House

Johnson is not budging.

He reiterated at a Friday Capitol news conference that he believes that the House did its job, passing a short-term budget bill that funds the government through November 21.

The bill has stalled in the Senate, where it’s failed seven times to get the 60 votes needed to move ahead. The Senate is scheduled to reconvene Tuesday, when another vote is expected.

The House left Washington Sept. 19 and has no plans to return anytime soon.

“House Republicans are fanned out across the country, trying to help their constituents because so many of them are now struggling because of the Democrats’ game,” Johnson said Friday.

He set no timetable for a House return, only that they’ll come back when Democrats agree to reopen the government.

Political trouble for Kiley?

What bothers Kiley, as well as a lot of other House Republicans, is that a lot of work isn’t getting done.

“We need to be exploring all possible ways to end the shutdown, as well as passing full budget bills that are now overdue and conducting the regular legislative and oversight functions of the House,” he said Friday.

The House has now missed six days it was scheduled to be in session for possible votes. Typically, those days are filled with committee hearings and votes on other legislation.

Kiley represents a sprawling district that stretches from the eastern suburbs of Sacramento over to the Lake Tahoe area and down to Death Valley. Kiley won easily in 2024, but if voters approve Proposition 50 next month, its lines could be redrawn, making it tougher for Kiley to win re-election.

“Members like Kevin Kiley — who could find himself in a very difficult reelection fight given recent polling on Proposition 50 — are more incentivized to pressure leadership into returning,” said Matthew Klein, U.S. House and governor analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

If Kiley winds up in a redrawn, Democratic-leaning district, “he’ll need to demonstrate that he is distinct from national GOP figures and committed to finding common ground with Democrats.”

Therefore, “criticizing his own party’s shutdown strategy is one public way for Kiley to signal that he wants a more active and cooperative approach to negotiations with Democrats, thus inoculating himself against potential attacks that he’s too partisan,” Klein said.

Being out of Washington could spell political trouble, added Kyle Kondik, managing editor of the nonpartisan Sabato’s Crystal Ball, which follows House races.

“The downside of the House being away is that one could argue they are AWOL during a crisis. Some of the members in more competitive districts — Kiley’s qualifies, and it really qualifies if the gerrymander passes — may be concerned about the optics of this,” Kondik said.

The House had been scheduled to reconvene Tuesday — Monday is a federal holiday. But Friday, the majority leader’s office sent out an advisory saying, “since Senate Democrats continue to hold the federal government hostage, Members are advised that votes are no longer expected in the House on Tuesday, October 14th.”

Kiley chairs the House subcommittee on early childhood, elementary and secondary education Among its hearings last month was a session on antisemitism in K-12 grades and “reclaiming reading and math through proven instruction.”

Why being in session matters

He is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee, which last month held a hearing on “AI at a Crossroads: A Nationwide Strategy or Californication?” He also serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

By not meeting, the full House has been unable to debate or vote on legislation that would fund the government for the full fiscal year, which began October 1.

While there hasn’t been an apparent groundswell joining Kiley’s call to bring back the House, there have been some signs other Republicans want to return. After a private conference call Thursday with House Republicans, at least three GOP members were said to urge returning.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has been vocal for days about doing so, countering Republican claims that Democrats are responsible for the shutdown.

“I’m not putting the blame on the president,” for the shutdown, she told CNN. “I’m actually putting the blame on the speaker and Leader [John] Thune in the Senate. This should not be happening.”

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