{"id":2501421,"date":"2025-10-21T12:49:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T16:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thune-sidesteps-mike-johnson-recess-criticism\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T12:49:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T16:49:46","slug":"thune-sidesteps-mike-johnson-recess-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thune-sidesteps-mike-johnson-recess-criticism\/","title":{"rendered":"Thune sidesteps Mike Johnson recess criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthune-sidesteps-mike-johnson-recess-criticism%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2501421&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has distanced himself from criticism of House Speaker Mike Johnson&#8217;s (R-LA) decision to keep the House of representatives on recess during the ongoing government shutdown. Thune declined to advise the House on its strategy, noting that the Senate continues to work by voting on funding bills and holding confirmation votes. the House has been out of session since September 19 after passing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-calls-on-congress-to-move-forward-on-raising-debt-ceiling\/\" title=\"Biden Calls On Congress To \u2018Move Forward\u2019 On Raising Debt Ceiling\">short-term funding bill<\/a> that the Senate Democrats oppose without healthcare concessions. Johnson faces criticism from some Republicans for the extended recess, which has been seen by Democrats as a &#8220;vacation&#8221; during the shutdown affecting millions of federal employees. Despite internal dissent, Johnson defends the recess as a strategic move to pressure Democrats to accept the GOP funding bill. thune supports the idea that the resolution of the shutdown lies in the Senate and is preparing to bring forward legislation to pay federal workers affected by the shutdown.He canceled the Senate&#8217;s Columbus Day recess but stated he will avoid weekend sessions unless productive progress seems likely.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Thune sidesteps Mike Johnson recess criticism: &lsquo;Try not to give the House advice&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2378616\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Senate Majority Leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-thune\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">John Thune<\/a> (R-SD) is removing himself from a House fight over Speaker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-johnson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mike Johnson&rsquo;s<\/a> (R-LA) decision to keep lawmakers at home during the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/government-shutdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">government shutdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I try not to give the House advice,&rdquo; Thune told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> on Tuesday when asked whether it is a strategic mistake to keep the House on recess for more than a month, as some of Johnson&rsquo;s GOP colleagues have said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/senate-2\/3858301\/fetterman-filibuster-vote-government-shutdown\/\">Fetterman says he&rsquo;d vote to kill filibuster to end shutdown impasse<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3858219\/george-santos-promises-explore-way-to-make-it-right-fraud-victims\/\">Santos says he will &lsquo;explore a way to make it right&rsquo; with fraud victims<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3858337\/pardoned-jan-6-participant-arrested-threatening-kill-hakeem-jeffries\/\">Pardoned Jan. 6 participant arrested for allegedly threatening to &lsquo;eliminate&rsquo; Hakeem Jeffries<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The House has not been in session since Sept. 19, when Republicans passed a short-term funding bill that Democrats refuse to accept in the Senate without concessions on healthcare. Thune, by contrast, has kept the Senate voting on the bill, with 11 failed attempts as of Monday, alongside a series of confirmation votes and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3844961\/senate-pass-annual-defense-bill-ndaa-shutdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">passage of a defense bill<\/a> two weeks ago.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I mean, I think they did their job,&rdquo; Thune added. &ldquo;They passed a continuing resolution, and we need to pick it up here. As I&rsquo;ve said before, the play is in the Senate.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>One day earlier, Thune agreed it was time to &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3857669\/thune-house-gop-return-pass-funding-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">start thinking about<\/a>&rdquo; the House returning to pass the same funding bill, except with a later expiration date. The House-passed legislation would keep the government funded through Nov. 21, but the protracted standoff with Democrats, now in its fourth week, means the date will need to be December or later to buy appropriators time to strike a spending deal.<\/p>\n<p>House Democrats have painted the recess as a &ldquo;vacation&rdquo; for lawmakers and have spent most weeks of the shutdown with a large contingent of members in Washington, but Johnson&rsquo;s decision has also irked some members of his own conference who dislike the optics of Republicans staying home while more than 2 million federal employees work without pay.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) has called Republicans&rsquo; extended absence &ldquo;embarrassing,&rdquo; openly criticizing him for refusing to swear in Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat elected in Arizona a few days after the House went on recess.<\/p>\n<p>In an <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepMTG\/status\/1980230814173675824\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">X post<\/a> Monday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said the House should be working through its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-backs-funding-bill-to-avoid-shutdown-i-will-sign-it-immediately\/\" title=\"Biden Supports Spending Bill to Prevent ..., Pledges Prompt Signature\">full-year funding bills<\/a> until Republicans can reach a bipartisan deal with Senate Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson defended his decision to keep lawmakers home at a Tuesday press conference, telling reporters that &ldquo;99.5% of the House Republicans understand exactly what we&rsquo;re doing&rdquo; and that his chamber would take up the &ldquo;next batch&rdquo; of appropriations bills when the government reopens.<\/p>\n<p>Of the Nov. 21 deadline, Johnson said the time lost is &ldquo;becoming a very dicey prospect right now.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The extended recess has kept Johnson&rsquo;s shutdown messaging more disciplined, with fewer members available to speak to the media, and represents a bid to leave Democrats with no alternative but to accept the GOP funding bill.<\/p>\n<p>It has also delayed a vote on the Epstein files, a subject of GOP divisions before the funding bill passed, though Johnson denies that is why he is keeping the House out of session.<\/p>\n<p>Thune, for his part, has recalibrated his strategy several times in the face of Senate gridlock, attempting to pass, so far unsuccessfully, narrower spending bills that in other circumstances would attract broad support.<\/p>\n<p>Later this week, he will bring to the floor a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >bill paying federal employees forced<\/a> to work during the shutdown after a Pentagon funding measure failed last week.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3857509\/thune-trial-balloon-shutdown-strategy-federal-worker-pay\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>THUNE PIVOTS TO FEDERAL WORKER PAY AS LATEST SHUTDOWN TRIAL BALLOON<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Thune canceled the Columbus Day recess last week but told reporters Tuesday that he would not keep the Senate in session on weekends unless he thought it would be &ldquo;productive.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t seen any evidence yet that it will be,&rdquo; Thune said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thune avoids criticizing Johnson&#8217;s recess choice: &#8220;No advice<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2651,"featured_media":2501422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25288726737049.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[34218,5894,65614,23610],"class_list":["post-2501421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-mike-johnson","tag-politics","tag-recess-criticism","tag-thune"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25288726737049.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2651"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2501421"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2501425,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501421\/revisions\/2501425"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2501422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2501421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2501421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2501421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}