House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday sharply diverged from the direction that Senate negotiations were headed in to end the government shutdown.
Johnson told reporters Thursday that he would not commit to holding a vote on extending COVID-19 pandemic-era enhanced Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of this year without congressional action.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had been floating a vote on such an extension in exchange for Democrats voting to end the shutdown — which is now in its 37th day. He has said he could not guarantee an outcome on the vote or that the House would take it up, however.
"Leader Thune has bent over backwards. He's offered them a vote. You know what they told him in response? ‘No, we need you to guarantee the outcome of that vote.’ Well, that's ridiculous," Johnson said when asked about holding such a vote by a guaranteed date in the House if the deal succeeds in breaking the logjam.
When pressed again on a vote, he said, "No, because we did our job, and I'm not part of the negotiation."
"The House did its job on Sept. 19. I'm not promising anybody anything. I'm going to let this process play out," Johnson said.