Government shutdown could be the longest ever, House Speaker Johnson
warns
[October 14, 2025]
By LISA MASCARO
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.

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The Capitol is seen under gray skies on the thirteenth day of the
government shutdown, in Washington, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP
Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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.
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Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.
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