WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives, out of session long enough for the district work period to acquire a lease, has sublet the chamber to Spirit Halloween, according to a notice posted on the Speaker’s door and a second notice posted on the rostrum in orange and black. Members left in mid-September after Speaker Mike Johnson canceled the remaining votes and told them to go home and campaign. They are not expected back for legislative business until after the November midterms. In the interval the floor has been cleared of desks, the well has been filled with inflatable lawn ornaments, and the mace has been moved to make room for a cashier. A temporary sign above the main door reads OPEN, beneath the older sign that still reads THE PEOPLE’S HOUSE. “The House has done its work,” Johnson said when he sent them home. Facilities management said the same thing to the seasonal retailer, which required only that the space be empty, high-ceilinged, and unlikely to be needed before November. Both conditions were met. The lease runs through the week after Election Day, with an option to extend if the lame-duck schedule slips, which aides described as likely. Tour groups are being redirected through the store. The animatronic witch has been placed where the majority leader usually stands, on the ground that the motions are similar and the witch keeps regular hours. Fog machines are prohibited during pro forma sessions, which continue for a few minutes every few days so that the chamber can be said to have met. Shoppers are asked to pause while a clerk gavels the House into recess and then back into retail. Appropriators objected that the space was needed for a continuing resolution. The Speaker’s office noted that the continuing resolution had already been continued, and that the store was paying rent, which the resolution was not. Democrats called the arrangement an abdication. Republicans called it a district work period with better margins. Spirit Halloween called it a flagship. The chamber will be restored before members return, assuming they return, and assuming anyone can find the original furniture under the remaindered skeletons. Until then the House is open seven days a week. Costumes are 40 percent off. Legislation is not available in this location. The post US House Chamber Turned Into Spirit Halloween appeared first on Genesius Times.