As the federal government shutdown entered its twelfth day, Tecopa’s elected congressman, Rep. Kevin Kiley (R), said Sunday on CNN that the House should return to work instead of remaining closed under Speaker Mike Johnson’s direction.
“There are a lot of reasons for the House to be in session,” Kiley said. “We were supposed to be in session the last two weeks. We’re supposed to be in session next week, irrespective of a government shutdown, because… we have oversight hearings to do, we have legislation to mark up, we have the ordinary business of the people to carry out.”
Kiley said there was “no justification to shut everything down just because we’re in the midst of the government shutdown,” arguing that Congress should be “doing everything we possibly can to get us out of this situation.”
The House has not been in session since September 19, with Speaker Johnson keeping the chamber closed in an effort to pressure Senate Democrats to approve the House’s temporary spending bill. Kiley pointed out that the delay undermines the purpose of the seven-week continuing resolution already passed by the House.
“Even if that seven-week continuing resolution became law, we’ve already burned a few of those weeks just being out of session,” he said. “So I think we absolutely should be there.”
Open to Negotiating with Democrats
Pressed by CNN about whether GOP leaders should negotiate with Democrats to end the shutdown, Kiley said Republicans should “explore all avenues.”
“I voted for the continuing resolution. I don’t like continuing resolutions, but it was the lesser of two evils,” he said. “Between that and shutting down the government, which is a terrible thing… sometimes you have to work with people that you believe are being unreasonable in order to find the common ground that is best for the country.”
He added that potential discussions could include health-care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, saying,
“There are a number of people in our conference, myself included, who are very concerned about the prospect that people are going to see a sudden increase in premiums… If reaching some sort of deal there… provides a pathway out of the shutdown as well, I don’t see why we shouldn’t at least look into that.”
Kiley clarified he was not proposing a specific deal but said,
“We should explore all possibilities because a shutdown is a terrible thing for the American people.”
On Federal Worker Firings
Asked about the White House’s decision to fire thousands of federal employees as part of cost-cutting measures during the shutdown, Kiley said Congress bears ultimate responsibility.
“It’s really not the fault of the White House in the sense that it’s the job of Congress to fund the government,” he said. “This is a failure of Congress to actually do its most basic responsibility, which is to fund the government and keep the government… open to the American people.”
He said he voted against shutdowns “both during the Biden administration and during the Trump administration,” citing the harm caused by furloughs, lost paychecks, and closed parks.
Criticism of Speaker Over Delayed Swearing-In
Kiley also objected to Speaker Johnson’s decision not to swear in Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat from Arizona who won a vacant House seat nearly three weeks ago.
“She’s the duly elected member of Congress from that district and she should be sworn in,” Kiley said. “I don’t know why this is an issue. The constituents in that district deserve to have a representative.”
He added that swearing her in during a pro forma session “has been done before” and said,
“It shouldn’t matter what party is in charge and what party is being elected.”
Summary
Kiley’s comments mark a clear departure from House leadership’s “no-session” approach. He called for Congress to reconvene, consider compromise with Democrats, and prioritize reopening the government. Throughout the interview, Kiley framed the shutdown as a failure of both parties to perform their basic duties — and a reason, not an excuse, for lawmakers to get back to work.
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