House Speaker Mike Johnson railed against Democrats for “publicity stunts” in the shutdown fight, urging them to reopen the government now that the “No Kings” protests are in the rearview mirror.
Johnson, speaking at a news conference alongside GOP leaders and members of the House Freedom
Caucus at the Capitol, said “the politics were on full display” over the weekend.
“This has always been about the spectacle,” he said.
The speaker took aim at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, claiming “the shutdown is about one thing and one thing alone: Chuck Schumer’s political survival.” And he said now that the protests are over, Republicans’ “plea” is that Schumer “is finally now ready to go to work and end the shutdown and stop inflicting pain on the American people.”
“Now that Democrats have had their protests and publicity stunts, I just pray that they come to their senses and end this shutdown and reopen the government this week,” Johnson said.
Johnson said that the shutdown is now the longest full shutdown in modern history, since the two shutdowns that have lasted longer only affected parts of the government.
“The Democrats are making some very costly history here,” Johnson said.
The speaker also noted how Democrats have opposed a “clean” measure to keep the government, calling it “a political stunt.”
“It’s the first time it’s been done, and it is the most costly, most selfish, most dangerous political stunt in the history of the United States Congress,” Johnson said. “And the Democrats have zero shame about this.”
