House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, speaks while leading a press conference with House Republican leadership at the U.S. Capitol on February 3, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Robert Schmidt AFP | Getty Images
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he is optimistic that the three-day partial shutdown of much of the U.S. government is nearing an end.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters on Tuesday morning that he has the right to vote on key procedural votes to reopen parts of the government that have been closed since Saturday morning.
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told Johnson that Democrats would not help Republicans move forward with the process of putting government funding on the ballot, saying Johnson needed to work within his own majority to fund the government. After the new Democrats are sworn in on Monday, Johnson will only be allowed to lose one Republican vote on party-line policies.
“We’re going to pass this rule today. There was never any question for me about that,” Johnson said at a news conference Tuesday morning. “We are governing responsibly and fulfilling our mandate.”
Prime Minister Johnson spent much of Monday trying to quell a revolt within his party opposed to ending the government shutdown. Among them were conservative lawmakers who called for a vote on the controversial voter ID bill known as the SAVE Act.
The bill would fully fund the departments of Defense, Treasury, State, Health and Human Services, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Education through the remainder of this fiscal year by Sept. 30. Senate Democrats stripped the Department of Homeland Security of its funding and replaced it with a two-week interim measure after two Americans were shot and killed by federal immigration agents.
Negotiations are currently underway on new guardrails for immigration enforcement in a bill to fund DHS.
This story is developing. Please check back for the latest information.
