WASHINGTON — Speaker of the House Mike Johnson pinned the blame for the ongoing government shutdown squarely on Senate Democrats during a press briefing Friday, accusing them of playing political games while critical services stall and Americans suffer.
Schumer Democrat shutdown
“This is a Schumer Democrat shutdown,” Johnson said, referring to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. “They needed political cover, and they shut down the government to get it.”
The government has been closed for six days, halting services like nutritional programs for women and children, veterans’ healthcare, and FEMA’s flood insurance operations during peak hurricane season. TSA and border patrol agents continue to work without pay, and hundreds of thousands of federal workers are furloughed.
Johnson said the House had done its part by passing a clean, bipartisan continuing resolution (CR) that would extend funding through Nov. 21. The resolution, only 24 pages long, contains no policy riders or partisan language, according to Johnson.
Nothing to negotiate
“There’s nothing to negotiate. We sent over a clean bill,” he said. “We didn’t include a single Republican policy or demand. This is the Biden-era status quo. We simply asked for more time to finish the appropriations process.”
Schumer, Johnson argued, reversed his previous stance on continuing resolutions under pressure from the far-left wing of his party. Johnson pointed to a March 2025 issue of the Washington Examiner in which Democrats criticized Schumer for not standing up to Republicans. To avoid a repeat, Johnson said, Schumer manufactured a fight over healthcare.
“This isn’t about healthcare. That’s a December issue,” Johnson said, noting that the current fight concerns government funding through late November, not longer-term healthcare subsidies.
Medicaid reform
The Speaker also defended GOP-backed Medicaid reforms passed in the Working Families Tax Cut Act, which he said removed an estimated 1.4 million non-citizens from Medicaid rolls and introduced work requirements for able-bodied, childless adults. Schumer’s counterproposal would roll those changes back, Johnson said, adding $192.8 billion in new spending and reinstating benefits for undocumented immigrants.
“He’s trying to reverse all the fiscal discipline we put in place,” Johnson said. “That’s not governing—that’s capitulating to radical interests.”
Johnson highlighted that Senate Democrats are now tying government funding to unrelated healthcare issues, including subsidies set to expire at the end of the year. He dismissed the argument that insurers are setting premium rates now, saying there is still time in October to resolve that issue if the government reopens soon.
Pressed on whether Republicans were willing to make concessions to get Democrats on board, Johnson pushed back hard.
“There’s nothing to take out of the bill because we didn’t put anything in,” he said. “This is not a negotiation tactic. It’s a responsible move to keep the lights on while we finish the job.”
Johnson claimed Republicans are working across the aisle and across the country. He cited ongoing efforts by GOP lawmakers to assist rural hospitals, meet with constituents, and prepare additional appropriations packages.
Still, until Democrats return to the table, Johnson said the House would remain out of session.
“I want to bring everyone back to work,” he said. “But we can’t do that until Chuck Schumer reopens the government.”
In closing, Johnson made a direct appeal to Senate Democrats: “Stop the madness. Reopen the government. Let’s get back to work on healthcare, spending, and everything the American people elected us to do.”
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Ten years of experience reporting. From car chases and courtroom verdicts to House fires, Holsford thrives during breaking news and finds it a privilege to help drive the conversation in Rockland County and the Greater New York Area. Born in San Bernardino, Thomas is a New York boy at heart. He received his bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism, specializing in political science and sociology, from the University of Illinois
