Johnson makes lots of news on Fly Out Day

IN THIS EDITION

Johnson on a shutdown, Obamacare subsidies and 2026

Maryland Dems may redraw map as redistricting battle rages

The Vault: On the hunt for the crypto faithful

Thune, Scott endorse Ashley Hinson for Iowa Senate

ICYMI: Chavez-DeRemer on shutdown, construction workforce shortage

THE TOP

Johnson on a shutdown, Obamacare subsidies and 2026

Happy Friday morning.

Speaker Mike Johnson was on “Fly Out Day” from the Punchbowl News Townhouse Thursday, and he made a lot of news.

That’s the idea of this show: get key lawmakers to talk about power in Congress.

Johnson addressed a lot of topics during his appearance – Jeffrey Epstein, Vladimir Putin, redistricting and the battle for control of the House in 2026. You have to watch the entire episode, which is available above on YouTube or on our podcast feed.

But we wanted to dig into some exceedingly newsy highlights from the first episode, presented by Meta.

Obamacare. Johnson cracked the door open – slightly – to extending enhanced Obamacare subsidies that expire at the end of 2025. Without an extension, millions of Americans could see the cost of their health care soar or lose coverage.

We scooped Thursday that nine vulnerable House Republicans were pushing for a year-long extension of the tax credits, which help Americans on the Obamacare exchange afford health insurance.

Here’s Johnson’s first in-depth comments on the issue:

This comment is going to turn a lot of heads in the Capitol. In reality, including an extension of Obamacare premium tax credits in a funding bill at some point this year could help unlock a deal with Democrats.

But the issue is divisive among House Republicans, to say the least. And the idea of changing the Obamacare subsidies or scaling them back — by tightening the income limits, for instance — could turn off Democrats.

But Johnson’s comments show that there’s a potential deal to be had here.

A government shutdown. Johnson doesn’t want to shut the federal government down, he told us. And he’s talking at this point – 25 days before federal funding runs out – as if Republicans are going to be reasonable in their stopgap funding bill at the end of the month.

Johnson said that he and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have had “some conversations” about keeping the government open past Sept. 30.

“There are reasonable people on both sides who understand this is a basic function and responsibility of the government, so we’re working towards that,” Johnson said. “Final decisions have not been made, OK? But a lot of very, I think, productive discussions [are] going on about potentially the necessity of a CR before Oct. 1.”

The White House prefers a CR into the first quarter of 2026. House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) wants a stopgap to November so that the “Four Corners” – the top appropriators from both chambers – can continue negotiating.

Johnson said he is “double-minded” on the issue. In other words, he understands the early 2026 strategy and Cole’s preferred November push.

The speaker is quite bullish on negotiating a compromise package of spending bills with the Senate. He said that there is a “very good shot” that the House and Senate could enter into a formal negotiation on the MilCon-VA spending bill, packaging it with three other appropriations bills in the coming months.

A crime bill. Johnson said he’s discussing passing a crime package, as President Donald Trump has been asking for.

Johnson said the legislation, which is still being drafted, would seek to tighten various policies, including those on juvenile crime.

“The same people that were behind [defund the police] are in favor of these restrictive policies that don’t allow the cops to do their job,” Johnson said. “And I think that’s a big problem. We’re looking at in what way we could have federal legislation that would address the root of those problems. Because I think that, as demonstrated in [D.C.], I think you can solve it if you just put the right resources and time and energy into [it.]”

Some other odds and ends:

1) Johnson said Republicans are working on a second reconciliation package. The speaker added that the package will include some items that were “left on the cutting room floor during the last reconciliation bill.”

We asked Johnson multiple times if that package will include further Medicaid changes beyond the One Big Beautiful Bill. The Louisiana Republican wouldn’t “forecast” what would be in the package.

“I don’t want to put my thumb on the scale,” Johnson said. “I want this to be member-driven, as the last one was, because that’s how we got it done.”

2) Johnson claimed Democrats started the redistricting wars that have roiled the House – something that Democrats, of course, would take issue with.

“This started with Eric Holder,” Johnson said, speaking of former President Barack Obama’s attorney general who chairs the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. “They’ve been doing this for longer than a decade. OK? And blue states have gerrymandered Republican representation entirely out – entirely. So both sides have some fault in this thing.”

Also … Scalise’s communications director is leaving. Lauren Fine, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s longtime communications director, is leaving Capitol Hill to join Google’s global communications and public affairs team. Fine will work on policy communications.

Fine has worked for Scalise for more than eight years. Fine’s departure is just the latest of several senior Scalise aides that have left this year.

Kerry Rom will be Scalise’s next communications director. She was deputy communications director to Johnson. Rom was also deputy communications director for Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-S.C.) presidential campaign and worked at Targeted Victory, the NRCC and RNC.

– Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan

Join us next week as we discuss access to health care and patient access to care in rural communities with Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 8:30 a.m. ET. There’s still time to RSVP!

REDISTRICTING WARS

Maryland Dems may redraw map as redistricting battle rages

Democrats are inching toward a mid-decade redistricting in Maryland, one of the few blue states with the ability to counter Republicans’ gerrymandering spree.

Maryland’s eight-member congressional delegation is almost entirely Democratic, save for GOP Rep. Andy Harris on the state’s Eastern Shore. The Democratic members plan to meet in the next few weeks to discuss a push for a new map. Several of them have already signaled support for a plan that would target Harris’ seat.

“It’s being discussed, obviously,” Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said. “If we could do it, I’d be supportive.”

Democrats haven’t made any major moves in Annapolis or D.C. But key Maryland players, including Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and legislative leaders, have signaled interest.

In Congress, Democrats are seething over Missouri’s push this week to muscle through a new map targeting Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s (D-Mo.) Kansas City-area seat.

“The Missouri legislature is meeting with the explicit and sole purpose of trying to draw Congressman Cleaver out of his district,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said. “Our delegation hasn’t met yet, but we are going to meet to discuss what we should do about this.”

Democrats have a supermajority in Maryland. But there are two main roadblocks to redistricting in the Free State.

First, members of the delegation would have to agree to give up Democratic voters. This could be particularly touchy for Rep. Sarah Elfreth, who represents Annapolis, and Rep. Kweisi Mfume, who represents Baltimore. Their seats could change significantly to make Harris’ district bluer.

More importantly, there are Maryland state courts. Democrats already tried to draw Harris out of his district in 2022 only to see that map struck down as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander in a state circuit court. The case never made it to Maryland’s Supreme Court, but it may not be more favorable. Former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan appointed five of the seven justices there.

Meanwhile, Republicans are also expanding their efforts to draw new red seats.

Indiana. There’s increasing bullishness in GOP circles that Hoosier State Republicans will move forward with redistricting. The White House has been waging a pressure campaign to get Indiana lawmakers on board, including hosting a group in the Oval Office last week.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) told us he’s heard from state legislators that the White House meeting persuaded them to move forward. Stutzman said the pitch was focused on policies Trump could pursue with a GOP House majority.

If Indiana does go ahead, there’s still the question of whether Republicans would try to pick up one seat or two. The state’s delegation currently has seven Republicans and two Democrats. Stutzman predicted a bigger push, saying it “would not be hard to draw 9-0 maps in Indiana.”

Kansas. There’s redistricting chatter picking up in Kansas, where Republicans have a supermajority in the state legislature.

Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kan.) told us he discussed redistricting with Kansas’ House and Senate leaders over the August recess.

“I know Missouri’s actively involved in it now,” Estes said. “So I’m sure it’s going to come up a little bit more in discussion in Kansas as well.”

— Ally Mutnick and Laura Weiss

The Vault: On the hunt for the crypto faithful

Stand With Crypto has had one problem since the Coinbase-backed 501(c)4 launched in 2023 to mobilize crypto voters: proving that those voters exist.

The sheer amount of the Fairshake super PAC network’s very real cash has often overshadowed Stand With Crypto’s grassroots aspirations. Critics have long dubbed the group to be a case of “astroturfing.”

Away from Washington this year, though, Stand With Crypto is trying to build the bones of a proper mobilization org. The operation will be put to the test in the 2026 midterms – a job that’s fallen to Community Director Mason Lynaugh.

Stand With Crypto is focused on driving Congress to enact market structure legislation in September. After that, it’s election time.

“We did such a good job in 2024 of proving that the crypto voter is real,” Lynaugh said in an interview. “But 2026 is where we prove that the crypto voter is a defining constituency for the next generation, and it’s a time when we hold politicians accountable.”

Ground game. Lynaugh has heard the word “astroturf” thrown around. But Lynaugh argued that the group has sharpened its grassroots focus by embracing a “state chapter” approach in places like Arizona and Georgia.

Lynaugh said most chapters were focused on market structure at the federal level. But he credited the Arizona group with helping push a bill that would convert digital assets left in the state’s unclaimed property vaults into a “strategic reserve.”

Enter Congress. We spent some time this week asking Democrats what they make of the “crypto voter.” Republicans, who almost universally support the industry, don’t need as much convincing. But Democrats’ answers were instructive.

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who received backing from Fairshake in his 2024 Senate bid and supported the GENIUS Act, said the bloc was real.

“The extent of it, I think, can be very debatable,” Gallego said. “But when you’re dealing with really small margins in a lot of these elections, and you’re dealing with communities that we need – for example, Black men and Latino men, who are very crypto positive – it does matter.”

Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), who doesn’t take super PAC funding but voted for GENIUS, was more skeptical. “I have only, maybe one or two recollections of someone coming to me very clearly [with their] first priority being about crypto,” Kim said. “It’s very rare that I hear that.”

Then, you’ve got a battleground senator like Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), who voted for GENIUS. We asked whether he’s thinking about crypto as an electoral force in 2026.

“I have not thought deeply about the politics of it,” Ossoff said. “I just try to look at the policy, on the merits.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story said that Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) voted against final passage of the GENIUS Act. He voted for it.

– Brendan Pedersen

… AND THERE’S MORE

Thune, Scott endorse Ashley Hinson for Iowa Senate

Major Iowa news: Senate Majority Leader John Thune and NRSC Chair Tim Scott are endorsing Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) to replace retiring Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa). This is a massive sign of institutional support for Hinson’s bid and will likely head off any other challengers.

It’s in contrast to the crowded and competitive Democratic primary in the Hawkeye State.

Hinson is also one of the headline speakers at the RNC’s fall retreat next week in D.C. It’s very clear the party is rallying around Hinson.

Illinois News: Former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) is preparing to run for the congressional seat that she lost 15 years ago, according to sources familiar with her plans.

Bean, 63, represented suburban Chicago from 2005 to 2011 and was beaten in an upset by Republican Joe Walsh in the GOP’s 2010 wave. Bean came to Congress by ousting veteran Rep. Phil Crane, one of only two Republican incumbents to fall in the 2004 cycle.

This time, Bean is eyeing a safe Democratic seat.

Illinois’ 8th District is currently open because Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi is running for Senate. There are a slew of Democrats in the race, including Yasmeen Bankole, who is backed by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison.

But there is no clear frontrunner, and Bean’s allies see a path for her.

Bean, along with dozens of Democrats, lost in 2010 after being heavily attacked for backing Obamacare. And Bean’s potential comeback comes as Obamacare’s enhanced premium tax credits are set to expire.

But Bean is also a figure from a bygone era, and any Democrat running in 2026 has to deal with a base clamoring for generational change. In Congress, Bean was a Blue Dog who was willing to buck her party.

Bean hasn’t made a final decision about whether to run. But she’s discussed a potential run with members she served with and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.). Among those aware of and excited about her possible bid: former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Brad Dayspring’s new gig. Brad Dayspring, the former executive vice president at Politico and top aide to ex-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, is heading to Purple Strategies as an executive director.

– Max Cohen, Ally Mutnick and Jake Sherman

PUNCHBOWL NEWS EVENTS

ICYMI: Chavez-DeRemer on shutdown, construction workforce shortage

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer joined Punchbowl News Thursday for a discussion on workforce innovation with a focus on the construction sector.

Chavez-DeRemer, a former member of Congress, called for more apprenticeship and training programs to fix a growing labor shortage in the construction industry.

Chavez-DeRemer also projected confidence that Speaker Mike Johnson and lawmakers would avert a funding lapse at the end of September. Chavez-DeRemer said her agency is working with Congress to ensure workers have certainty about their jobs as the prospect of a government shutdown hangs over their heads.

Watch the full video here.

— Elvina Nawaguna

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