Mike Johnson calls out Schumer for continuing government shutdown

On Thursday morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) held a press conference to provide updates on the ongoing government shutdown. Along with other GOP leaders, Johnson placed blame for the shutdown squarely on Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other leading Democrats.

“It seems complicated, what’s happening in Washington right now,” Johnson said. “It actually is very simple.”

‘A majority of the Senate is already on our side. … So this really does get down to Leader Schumer and the bulk of his caucus.’

The speaker went on to say that Schumer and other top Democrats are prolonging the shutdown to appease the radical wing of their party. “They are worried about the Marxist flank in their Democrat Party,” Johnson said. “… He’s terrified that he’s going to get a challenge from his far left.”

According to Johnson, the Democrats’ delaying tactic is hurting the average American: “They are playing politics, and real Americans are paying the price for it.”

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said that Republicans are ready and willing to work with Democrats to move legislation forward. “We’re prepared to work. I’ve got very talented counterparts on the Democratic side,” Cole said.

He added that Schumer and other prominent Democrats are preventing bipartisan progress: “A majority of the Senate is already on our side. A bipartisan majority of 55. So this really does get down to Leader Schumer and the bulk of his caucus.”

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Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) echoed the speaker’s comments on Democrat efforts to appease the radical elements of the party. “I think the American people are getting sick of this charade,” Scalise said. He pointed to these efforts at appeasement as a major reason for the Democrats’ refusal to compromise. “Chuck Schumer is more concerned with his political job than he is about the jobs of millions of American families,” he claimed.

For his part, Schumer has remained focused on the additional health care funding and coverage that Democrats have insisted on adding to the continuing resolution in order to open up the government. In a post on X, Schumer wrote, “The government is shut down because Trump and the Republicans are hellbent on taking healthcare away from you.”

Since the government shut down, there have been five votes on measures to reopen it. All of them have failed. Another vote is scheduled for October 10.

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