Republicans once again took to the floor of the House of Representatives to demand that Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., call the body back into session to vote on energy legislation.
Incensed that the House had adjourned for its traditional five-week August break without passing a bill to increase domestic energy production with the goal of driving down gas and oil prices, more than a dozen Republican members called an impromptu and unofficial session Monday to talk about energy.
It is a continuation of the "not unprecedented but unusual" protest that Republicans staged Friday, continuing to debate energy policy for almost six hours after the House's adjournment, said Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga.
"We came back today because this is the most important issue of the day," he said, calling the event a "rally to demand the speaker of the house call the House back into session so we can have an up or down vote."
Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., who with Price organized the session, said from the House floor that although "the cameras may not be on, the lights may not be on, but this is the people's house and the people's voices will still be heard this day."
Pence added that he had started a petition so other Americans could add their voices to the Republicans in Congress who were demanding the House come back into session.
A spokesman for Pelosi, Nadeam Elshami, said Friday that the Republicans were "too scared to go home to face their constituents after voting against bills" the Democrats had brought forward, including requiring them to more fully exploit existing energy leases and curb the role of speculators.
"In a week when Exxon Mobil made the largest quarterly profits by a U.S. corporation, Republicans are staying in Washington to argue that Big Oil deserves more taxpayer lands," Elshami said. "That sums up their priorities."
Elshami could not be immediately reached for comment.
Rep. Wally Herger, R-Calif., rejected those arguments Monday.
"The American people are not stupid," he told RTT News.
Noting the occasional applause and cheers from the visitors' galleries above the House floor, Herger said it seemed clear there was broad support for the Republican initiative.
"The American people realize this is important. … You can tell from the reaction of these people. These are just regular tourists," he said.
Adding that there are signs that Senate Democrats, including the party's presumptive presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., were open to compromise, Herger said, "Everyone is willing to compromise on this except one leader and that's Speaker Pelosi."
Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., echoed that sentiment from the floor, telling the audience that Pelosi was more paying more attention to the interests of her San Francisco constituents than the needs of the American people.
"We are being held hostage by a very small group of people," he said. "The San Francisco mentality is controlling the energy policy of this country."
The debate was punctuated by some moments of levity for the representatives and tourists, some of whom got the rare honor of being invited onto the House floor to observe the debate from the empty seats on the Democratic side of the aisle.In one such moment the lights brightened while Rep Tom Cole, R-Ok., the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee was speaking.
"My god, there's been a surge in power. Somebody must be drilling somewhere in America. Probably in Oklahoma," he joked.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.