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With the government shut down, the House has sat idle: no floor debates, votes, or spending bills, and oversight hearings on hold. Speaker Mike Johnson has kept members on an open-ended recess now entering a second month, the latest in moves that have diminished Congress’s role and shrunken the speakership as power shifts to President Trump. Trump has joked, “I’m the speaker and the president,” a line Johnson has not contested. Johnson says the House need not meet while Senate Democrats block a reopening bill, and he has refused to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, who has sued.

Prepared by Lauren Mitchell and reviewed by editorial team.