Democrats fume as Mike Johnson cancels more House votes: "They should be ashamed"

Democrats railed against House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Friday after he cancelled yet another week of House votes amid the ongoing government shutdown.Why it matters: The move comes just as the shutdown is ratcheting up in severity, with the Trump administration announcing layoffs and military service members set to miss their first paycheck on Oct. 15.Johnson said earlier this week that there would be no standalone vote on paying the troops, saying the House has already done its work by passing a stopgap spending bill last month that includes troop pay."Hakeem Jeffries and the House Democrats ... are clamoring to get back here and have another vote, because some of them want to get on record and say they're for paying the troops. We already had that vote," he said.Driving the news: Johnson announced Friday in a notice to the House Clerk that votes planned between next Tuesday and Friday are being cancelled.That means the House will not return to session until Oct. 20 at the earliest.Johnson has said the House will only come back once the Senate passes House Republicans' spending bill.What they're saying: "Republicans in the House have decided to remain on vacation," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters on Friday."They canceled votes last week, they canceled votes this week and now they've canceled votes next week. They're not serious about reopening the government," he said.House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) said in a statement" "Showing up for work and helping constituents is not for 'show,' as Mike Johnson likes to say.""The government is shutdown and Johnson wants his members on vacation. It's disgraceful," said Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.)."It would be one thing if they were talking to people back home," Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) told Axios. "But they said they'll do town halls when hell freezes over. Who's writing their talking points — Marie Antoinette?"The latest: Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.) tried unsuccessfully during a brief pro forma session on Friday to pass House Democrats' bill to ensure troop pay during the shutdown.Elfreth sought to be recognized to pass the bill by unanimous consent, but Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) ignored her and gaveled the House out of session."I'm here, I know a number of my colleagues are here, ready and willing to take that up if we can't reach a bipartisan deal on the budget. So that's what I tried to do," she told reporters afterwards.Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), in a post on X, also proposed a change to House rules requiring the chamber to remain in session as long as there is a government shutdown.Zoom in: Members of Congress from near Washington, D.C., who represent huge swaths of the federal workforce, are particularly perturbed.Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), in a letter to Johnson, wrote that she is "extremely concerned" he cancelled votes next week, citing "very real consequences for working families in my state of Delaware, your state of Louisiana, and across the country.""Speaker Johnson's decision hurts the thousands of military servicemembers, contractors, and federal workers in my district who continue to show up to work while they aren't paid," said Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.).Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) said in a statement: "Servicemembers and federal employees face missed paychecks while families face skyrocketing health care premiums — and Speaker Johnson just canceled votes again ... They should be ashamed."What to watch: Jeffries, on a virtual caucus call, told his members to return to Washington next week after largely letting them remain in their districts this past week, according to several sources on the call.House Democrats are scheduled to have an in-person caucus meeting at the Capitol on Tuesday evening, the leader said, with events on Capitol Hill the following day.Jeffries also highlighted polling that shows Republicans getting blamed for the shutdown, sources said — a sign that Democrats are nowhere near budging."Everyone knows Democrats are taking a principled stand here," Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told Axios. "Johnson is afraid that his members will turn on him if they come back to town."Axios' Kate Santaliz contributed reporting for this story.