House Speaker Mike Johnson, right, speaks during a news conference in Statuary Hall at the US Capitol on Oct. 3. House Republican leaders told their members on a conference call Saturday that they plan to stay away from Washington while the government is shut down. “The message was very simple, the House has done its work,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota said in an interview Saturday on Fox News. Senators threw cold water on the potential for an imminent agreement before leaving town for the weekend on Friday. Republican Senator Mike Rounds signaled it might be helpful for negotiations that House lawmakers stay away.