Johnson has three-word answer on whether House will leave early

With the House facing a jam-packed final week before August recess, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is making clear lawmakers won't leave Washington until they finish their work.

Asked by Fox News on Monday whether he would send the House home early if GOP leaders failed to win a critical vote slated for Tuesday afternoon that would tee up consideration of several major bills, Johnson had a quick three-word response.

"I will not," he said.

The speaker’s comments come as he attempts this week to put a GOP-authored stock trading ban on the floor along with a stopgap spending measure funding the government through the midterm elections, while bringing a must-pass annual defense policy bill up for a second time.

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GOP leaders are also racing to pass a $95 billion budget framework providing for $73 billion in defense and intelligence funding as the Iran war drags on while also funding agriculture and election integrity priorities. The Trump-endorsed blueprint has spurred criticism from fiscal conservatives, who argue it lacks spending offsets.

The first test comes Monday evening when the House Rules Committee is expected to report out a rule setting up a chamber-wide procedural vote on the legislative items Tuesday.

Given House Republicans’ slim margins, Johnson can afford to lose just three GOP defections if all members are present and voting.

House conservatives have repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to vote down party-line procedural votes this year over various concerns, including frustration over the SAVE America Act stalling in the Senate.

"The fact that there is no payfor and no language defunding Planned Parenthood is enough for me to vote no," Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., a fiscal hawk, told Fox News Digital on Monday, regarding the budget framework.

Trump urged Republicans in a Truth Social post Monday to support the budget plan, arguing it would include as much of the election measure "as possible."

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Burlison has voiced concern about getting elements of the SAVE America Act through the Senate’s stringent budget reconciliation requirements — a process in which the Senate parliamentarian plays an outsize role.

"I am open to a dialogue with the administration on how we can ensure that the SAVE language is solid and what we might be able to do with stopping abortions by mail," he told Fox News Digital.

Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said Monday that Congress should stay in Washington until a short-term funding package and the SAVE America Act reach Trump’s desk.

"After this week, the House and Senate won’t be in session at the same time again until SEPTEMBER 14 if we keep the current schedule," he wrote on social media. "That’s insane. We STILL need to pass the SAVE America Act and prevent Democrats from shutting down the government in October."

"This would NOT fly in the business world. We need to stay here until we get ALL our work done. That’s what the American people expect of us," he continued.