Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is standing firm on his long-standing initiative to end the government shutdown. He is pushing hard for Senate Democrats to accept a straightforward stopgap measure, refusing to engage in negotiations as the minority party raises demands focused on healthcare policy, which led to the cancellation of a scheduled House vote and an extended recess.
Johnson has dismissed the idea of taking unilateral steps to ensure military personnel are paid during the shutdown, arguing that it’s up to Democrats to support the Continuing Resolution (CR) if they want service members to see their paychecks. Complicating the matter, former President Trump has urged the Defense Department to find alternative funds for salaries.
These actions align with what the Freedom Caucus has long championed: pass the “Justice Act” in the House and then leave the Senate to address it. Johnson has garnered significant praise from this group, a noteworthy shift given their history of pressuring GOP leadership.
On Friday, the Freedom Caucus hosted a press conference featuring Johnson, marking their first event with the Speaker of the House. Members rallied in support of his approach.
Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, Andy Harris (R-Md.), termed the occasion as “historical,” pointing to the transformation of their group from a smaller conservative faction to a significant influence on national policy.
Despite facing criticism earlier this year for their actions surrounding President Trump’s tax cuts and spending strategy, the Freedom Caucus contends that their influence has significantly driven the bill’s substantial budget cuts.
This ongoing shutdown struggle suggests that polarizing conservative politics is no longer an impediment for Congressional leaders but rather a central component of the Republican legislative agenda.
Not everyone is on board, however. Some lawmakers, including former Freedom Caucus member Rep. John Johnson, have criticized the decision to indefinitely cancel the House vote. Others, like Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), are reportedly concerned that the House should engage in negotiations.
At a press conference on Monday, Johnson maintained that most Republican lawmakers back his strategy, downplaying dissenting voices.
“If you ask House Republicans one by one, I’d say 98.7% would agree this is the right approach,” he remarked about adjourning the House.
“We’re actively working on spending,” Johnson affirmed, indicating that the next bill is in the pipeline.
This general dissatisfaction reinforces the Freedom Caucus’s preference for leadership that actively pursues their agenda.
“We align with the speaker,” Harris mentioned on Friday, highlighting the hope for a vote on the balanced budget amendment in the House.
Harris further noted that both he and the Speaker perceive federal debt and deficits as critical threats requiring urgent action.
The dynamic is aided by a trifecta of government control in Washington, alongside longstanding collaborative efforts between the Freedom Caucus and the White House Office of Management and Budget under Russell Vought to achieve conservative objectives.
Johnson, while not a member of the Freedom Caucus, previously chaired it and advocates for conservative measures, mainly through the Republican Study Committee, the House’s largest conservative caucus focused on policy.
As Speaker, Johnson has employed tactics favored by the Freedom Caucus, and his small majority in the House means he hasn’t strictly needed Republican support to pursue his goals effectively.
For instance, ahead of the September 2024 funding deadline, the group had proposed attaching a voter registration bill to a funding measure, but faced internal resistance, resulting in a “clean” three-month funding measure instead.
This time around, however, there seems to be no partisan attempts to appease moderate Republicans, which leaders believe should facilitate Democratic cooperation for government funding.
Yet, many Republicans were caught off guard by the protracted government shutdown, hoping that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) would capitulate more quickly than he did in March. Now, with two weeks into the shutdown, tensions between the parties have escalated, with no resolution emerging.
This situation raises questions over the wisdom of maintaining a strategy focused on avoiding Washington, particularly if the public begins to increasingly attribute blame to Republicans and Trump for the shutdown.
I asked Harris how the tactics of the Freedom Caucus might be viewed if the shutdown ends with a compromise on health policy involving Democrats.
“We operate within the legislative structure of Congress, which requires considering various viewpoints before making decisions,” he replied. “I’m glad we’re becoming more integrated into that deliberative process, and I hope to continue contributing to it.”
Dominion Voting Systems Rebranded
Dominion Voting Systems—a key player in election technology that faced numerous fraud allegations following Trump’s 2020 loss—is undergoing a sale with newly announced ownership. The company has rebranded itself as “Free Vote.” The new owner, Scott Leyendecker, is a former Republican campaign manager from St. Louis, Missouri and is associated with KNOWiNK, a major electronic poll book provider in the U.S.
The details of the sale price remain undisclosed. Dominion’s previous defamation lawsuits against media outlets regarding claims from the 2020 election resulted in significant settlements, including a $787 million agreement with Fox News and other settlements with various organizations.
Commenting on the change, Miles Parks from NPR raised curiosity about how right-wing election integrity activists will respond, considering this is merely a shift in ownership for now.
The company also reportedly aligns with the Logan Circle Group, which is devoted to “America First” principles and conservative ideals.
NFL’s Halftime Show Controversy
The MAGA crowd is expressing outrage over the NFL’s decision to feature Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny as the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime performer. The artist’s vocal criticism of U.S. immigration policy has drawn backlash.
Trump himself remarked during a Newsmax interview that he didn’t know who Bad Bunny was and branded the decision “crazy.” Speaker Johnson stated that hiring Bad Bunny was a “terrible decision,” proposing that someone like Lee Greenwood, known for “God Bless the USA,” would appeal to a broader audience.
Spotify reports that while Bad Bunny was the third most-streamed artist globally in 2024, he did not make the top 10 in the U.S.
Turning Point America is planning a concurrent program called the “All-American Halftime Show,” where respondents can choose preferred music genres for the event, including country, rock, or English-language options.
Upcoming Events
- Monday, October 20th: American Petroleum Institute will host a panel discussion on U.S. energy infrastructure and permitting reform at 3 p.m.
- Tuesday, October 21st: Vice President Vance will meet with Breitbart’s Matthew Boyle at an event co-hosted with Alpha Institute and CGCN.
- Thursday, October 23rd: An inter-university research institute will host an evening with Curry Means.
Noteworthy Developments
- Trump received a booster vaccine during his recent health checkup. Health Secretary’s adviser Robert F. Kennedy Jr. previously supported the idea of removing vaccine recommendations for older individuals. The ramifications of this decision have stirred discussions among Republicans.
- Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has continued to voice concerns regarding the Republican Party’s fractures related to Trump. Although she feels somewhat isolated in her viewpoint, she finds her situation “ridiculous” and has recently made significant staff changes.
- A growing number of voices are calling for a reassessment of the 2020 Census and how it impacted congressional district distributions. Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) expressed concerns in a letter to the Secretary of Commerce, suggesting that the current approach misrepresents population data.
What I’m Reading
- Jonah Goldberg of Dispatch: “The Tucker I Knew”
- Josh Dorsey of The Wall Street Journal: “Emboldened Trump to Further His Agenda”
- The Washington Post: “Congress is Losing Its Power to Spend the American People’s Money”
- Newsweek’s Josh Hammer: “Reacts to Candice Owens’ Attack on Him”
