There are four key points that Americans should understand when talking about the ongoing government shutdown, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) emphasized on Tuesday, marking the 28th day of the situation.
“It’s been nearly a month since this began, and I want to take a moment to highlight some important facts,” Johnson stated. “…The underlying motives of the Democratic Party and their consistent obstruction have become evident.”
He presented a chart that outlined four main facts about the shutdown:
1. Democratic votes are necessary to reopen the government.
2. Democrats have voted to keep the government closed 13 times.
3. They refuse to fund the government unless Congress revives progressive initiatives.
4. Democrats openly acknowledge that they are using the situation as leverage and claim “every day is getting better for us.”
“[You need] 60 votes in the Senate. With only 53 Republicans, support from Democrats is crucial. They’re trying to pin the blame for this solely on Republicans, but you can’t control the Senate without securing 60 votes. Democrats have voted 13 times to maintain the shutdown,” Johnson explained before moving to his next point.
He criticized the demands being made to resume government operations, calling them unreasonable. For instance, he mentioned efforts to restore $200 billion in health benefits for illegal immigrants and noncitizens, which he said is unacceptable. He also pointed out requests to resume funding for what he termed wasteful programs abroad, which isn’t feasible. Additionally, he mentioned the proposal to recover $500 million given to left-leaning news organizations—something he finds out of the question. Johnson stressed that the $50 billion allocated for rural healthcare, signed into law by Republicans on July 4, is critical and shouldn’t be eliminated.
He recalled comments from Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), the second-ranking Democrat, who acknowledged that the shutdown might ultimately benefit their party. “The shutdown is dire, and it will undoubtedly cause hardship for families. We take that responsibility seriously, but this is a rare chance to make a stand.”
“For those studying civics at home, let me break this down simply: Republicans are not asking for anything—literally nothing. All we want is to reopen the government. In contrast, Democrats are demanding everything I just outlined, plus more,” he stated, specifically mentioning requests for international remittances, including $4 million for a global LGBTQI+ awareness campaign.
“We’re not agreeing to that,” he concluded.
