House Speaker Mike Johnson is apparently tired, despite doing little this month during the government shutdown.
Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday that people have been telling him, “You look so tired on TV.”
“I am so tired, because we’re not sleeping a lot. We’re working overtime,” Johnson said, adding that House committees are still conferencing to put together legislation to be ready to go as soon as the House is back in session.
Johnson: People keep coming to me, “You look so tired on TV” — I am so tired, because we are not sleeping a lot—we’re working overtime. pic.twitter.com/pKJOw0rk1p
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 28, 2025
But the House hasn’t been in session since September 19, thanks to Johnson, well before the government shutdown began on October 1. Not only is no legislation being debated or passed, but Johnson has refused to swear in Democratic Representative Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona last month.
Johnson has dodged questions about Grijalva, claiming that he’s following a made-up Pelosi precedent and saying she won’t be sworn in until after the shutdown ends. Grijalva would be a deciding vote on whether to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, which could be the real reason for the delay.
Meanwhile, Johnson didn’t claim that he or House Republicans were hard at work negotiating with Democrats, which should be the preeminent concern, with SNAP benefits on the verge of ending thanks to the shutdown. If the speaker and his party are actually working hard, it doesn’t seem to be on reopening the government.
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