House Speaker Mike Johnson sharply criticized Democrats on Fox News, accusing them of putting politics above the needs of the American people amid the ongoing government shutdown. Johnson claimed Democrats are intentionally delaying reopening the government to appease their far-left base. \u201cChuck Schumer and the Democrats are playing politics with the lives of real American people,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019s absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed out that the Republican-led House passed a clean continuing resolution (CR) three weeks ago to keep the government open and fund federal workers, including the military. \u201cThe ball is in the Senate\u2019s court,\u201d he said, blaming Democrats for halting the process.<\/p>\n
Johnson also expressed frustration that instead of working to resolve the shutdown, some Democrats are promoting a protest called \u201cNo Kings Day,\u201d scheduled for October 18. He described the event as a \u201cpro-Hamas, Antifa-backed rally\u201d and claimed Democrats were hesitant to end the shutdown until after the demonstration to avoid upsetting their base.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, critical services like military pay, TSA operations, FEMA assistance, and nutrition programs for mothers and children remain at risk. Johnson warned that 2 million civilian workers and 1.3 million active-duty troops may miss paychecks.<\/p>\n
He ended by calling out Democrats for refusing to accept a bipartisan funding measure. \u201cThere has never been, in the history of Congress, a party willing to shut the government down over a clean CR,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re hurting the American people \u2014 and I\u2019ve just had it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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