Kevin Kiley’s one of few Republicans back in DC as shutdown goes on
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Rep. Kevin Kiley returned to Capitol urging Speaker Johnson to recall House.
- Kiley distinguished House shutdown from government closure and pressed action.
- He pushed anti-redistricting bill and sought bipartisan talks to end shutdown.
Rep. Kevin Kiley returned to a quiet, lonely Capitol Hill on Tuesday, hoping to find support for ending the two-week government shutdown and urging the House Speaker to bring members back to town.
The House was scheduled to be in session Tuesday, but Speaker Mike Johnson has cancelled those plans. The House has not met for a voting session since September 19.
While Kiley said at a news conference he disagreed with Democrats’ tactics to keep the government open, he added, “I also disagree with Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to shut down the House of Representatives.”
Kiley, a Roseville Republican whose re-election chances could be jeopardized by Proposition 50’s changes to congressional district lines, explained, “These are two separate and independent things, the government shutdown and the shutdown of the House.”
Kiley held up a House calendar and listed the seven days the chamber was scheduled to meet but did not.
“These are days in which we have important work to do, separate and apart from the shutdown,” Kiley said, speaking from his Washington office. “All of that has been either canceled or postponed.”
He said he had not spoken to Johnson as of Tuesday morning but was eager to see lawmakers attempting to craft a way to end the shutdown.
Kiley, who is having his pay withheld during the shutdown, is one of the few Republicans who have returned to Washington so far this week. Johnson canceled House sessions until further notice, saying the GOP-led House has done its job by extending government funding through November 21.
By coming to the Capitol, Kiley said he hoped to “send a message we’re ready to do what’s necessary to get the country out of this situation.” “My door is open and I’m interested in having any conversations that could be constructive,” he added.
Work not getting done
Kiley is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, which was supposed to hear from Attorney General Pam Bondi this month. He also serves on the Education and Workforce and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees.
Kiley’s frustration extends to another issue: He’s been pushing legislation that would prohibit mid-decade redrawing of congressional lines. Californians will vote on Proposition 50 next month, which would change the state’s congressional maps to create additional districts where Democrats would dominate.
That could endanger Kiley’s bid for re-election in California’s 3rd Congressional District, but so far he’s been stymied in his effort to get Congress to help.
“I’m very disappointed that the speaker has refused to bring that bill to the floor because I believe it has broad support among Democratic and Republican members of Congress,” he said.
Nothing has been brought to the floor since Sept. 19, the day the House voted to keep the government open through November 21. Democrats protested, saying they wanted to extend the expiring enhanced health care subsidies for Obamacare-related insurance policies.
Democrats have pushed a plan to extend those policies and restore cuts to the Medicaid program, while continuing government funding through October 31. The Senate has consistently rejected that proposal, but Republicans’ seven bids to pass their funding plan have failed to get enough votes.
Health care premium subsidies
Kiley Tuesday was sympathetic to extending the health care subsidies but disagreed with the Democrats’ strategy.
“If we can explore that as an option for at least reaching some sort of understanding…as a pathway out of the shutdown I don’t see why we wouldn’t at least explore that,” Kiley said.
So far there has been little known contact between leaders of the two parties.
Johnson on Tuesday told a news conference he was not optimistic there would be bipartisan talks anytime soon, criticizing Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
“He wants a backroom deal that the American people will never see. He literally has said, we need the top four leaders to go into a room and work this out,” Johnson said. “Why does Chuck Schumer say that? Because that’s how he’s operated for decades. He’s been in Congress since 1980. I was nine years old in the third grade when Chuck Schumer got here. He is the broken status quo.”
Asked about Johnson’s stance, Kiley reiterated that lawmakers should be talking.
“I think this whole thing shows why people are frustrated with Washington, D.C.,” he said. “This is politics. Sometimes you have to work with people who you believe are acting unreasonably in order to do what’s right for the country.”
This story was originally published October 14, 2025 at 1:17 PM.
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