How Long Will Johnson Shut Down the House to Avoid Releasing the Epstein Files?

As millions of Americans face a massive increase in healthcare, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson took his members to lunch at the "Rose Garden" - a concrete slab in the back of the White House - to hear a pep talk from dear leader who wants to make sure they are still backing the shutdown.

What we know for sure is there will be no vote today to fund the government. After Monday's 11th vote failed, the shutdown has now reached 21 days and tied the 1995-1996 standoff during the Bill Clinton presidency as the second longest in U.S, history.

About 750,000 federal workers were placed on furlough and the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a warning that there will not be enough funding to pay the entirety of Supplemental Nutrition (SNAP) benefits for November if the shutdown doesn't end, according to officials, impacting over 42 million individuals across the country who rely upon it.

Even worse, there is no end in sight. We have no idea how long it will last.

Only Trump knows that. This whole gambit of shutting down the government is clumsy but necessary in Trump's lizard brain to avoid releasing the Epstein Files in the House until he can come up with another major diversion. 

I'm not really big on polls, but I saw one today that 50% of Americans blame Republicans for the shutdown and 43% blame the Democrats.

Because Republicans have the House and the Senate in their pockets along with the presidency, it stands to reason they can end the shutdown whenever they feel like it. They're just waiting for their marching orders from daddy who will probably issue new ones at today's luncheon.

Speaker Johnson's motivation to keep the House shut down partly springs from worrying about his flock interacting with Senate democrats and possibly rebelling against Trump's demands.

As one Senate Republican, who requested anonymity to speak candidly (as reported by MSNBC) on the topic, said the strategy of keeping the House members out is two-fold: "It helps keep the party's message intact, and it prevents "squishier" lawmakers from breaking ranks."

As it Stands, someday I'm going to write a book about how a pedophile froze Congress. Until then I'll keep documenting Trump and his outrageous regime that's staffed with criminals.