House Speaker Comments on Government Shutdown
During a press conference on Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) remarked that this marks a historical moment where a political party has caused a government shutdown over a Clean Continuing Resolution (CR). He criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for allegedly catering to the far-left factions within the Democratic Party, emphasizing the impact this is having on ordinary Americans.
“We’ve never seen a government shut down like this over a clean CR before. We thought this would be straightforward. We sent out a straightforward 24-page letter aimed at keeping the government running and ensuring paychecks continued, yet here we are shut down because of fears related to the far left,” Johnson explained. He suggested that Schumer is “capitulating to the Marxist forces” within his own party.
Johnson went on to describe some of the severe consequences this shutdown is inflicting on Americans. “It’s important to note that many of the states affected are blue states, with Senate Democrats leading the charge to shut down the government. For instance, in California—the state with the largest civilian workforce—over 250,000 federal employees are currently working without pay. Senators Padilla and Schiff have voted seven times to block those paychecks,” he detailed.
He continued, “In Virginia, around 189,000 federal workers, which is nearly 5% of the state’s workforce, are awaiting their full paychecks. Senators Warner and Kaine have turned down a clean, bipartisan CR that Democrats previously supported 13 times during President Biden’s tenure,” before moving on to Maryland, which he describes as a vital trade area.
“Maryland has 150,000 federal employees. Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen have also voted seven times to keep the government shut down,” he stated.
Johnson pointed to Georgia, noting that it hosts the country’s busiest airport, with nearly 110,000 federal employees, including many TSA agents and air traffic controllers, currently without pay. “Sens. Ossoff and Warnock are responsible for these delays. They voted against the payments,” he said. He also mentioned Arizona, where “58,000 federal workers are employed, including many Border Patrol agents.” He claimed that despite Senators Kerry and Gallego voting against funding their constituents’ paychecks multiple times, they remain preoccupied with publicity stunts.
Reflecting on New York, Johnson said the state is home to Democratic leaders in both the Senate and House. “There are 115,000 federal employees in waiting, looking to Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer, and Kirsten Gillibrand to take action and end the shutdown,” he remarked. Johnson pointed out that the ongoing situation is affecting around 2 million civilian workers alongside 1.3 million active-duty military personnel.
In concluding his remarks, he added, “What Chuck Schumer is doing right now is troubling. It’s frustrating to hear him suggest that this situation is beneficial for him and his party when it is causing significant distress for real Americans. Millions are truly suffering due to all this political maneuvering,” he commented, suggesting that Schumer has become disconnected from the struggles of ordinary people over the years.
