Shreveport Reporter

This morning, Speaker Johnson addressed the House Republican Leadership press conference in Washington, focusing on the party's clean 6-month continuing resolution (CR) and what he described as Congressional Democrats' attempts to force a government shutdown.

“Here's the bottom line. If Congressional Democrats refuse to support this clean CR, they will be responsible for every troop who misses a paycheck, for every flight delay from reduced staffing at TSA, and for every negative consequence that comes from shutting down the government,” said Speaker Johnson.

He criticized Democrats for spreading misinformation about the CR: “[Democrats] either have an issue with reading comprehension or they are attempting to run one of the most shameful misinformation campaigns that we've ever seen in our lives.” He added that claims made by Democrats about cuts to healthcare and veterans benefits were false. “Every single word of that is a lie. Every single word, they just made it up.”

Johnson emphasized that the proposed CR does not include any policy riders or cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, or veterans benefits. “Zero. No cuts to veterans benefit benefits. Zero.”

The Speaker urged reporters to challenge these claims: “If you're allowing Democrats to make these intentionally false, scurrilous claims without pushback, then you're aiding and abetting the spreading this misinformation.”

Regarding efforts by House Republicans to keep the government open, Johnson stated: “You will see one team that is working to fund the government and make sure we do the responsible thing.” He accused Democrats of using federal employees as props in their political strategy.

Johnson also commented on what he sees as a shift in Democratic attitudes toward government shutdowns: “And now...they're planning to vote down this simple bill. They are going to try to shut the government down.”

Several Democratic leaders have expressed opposition against potential shutdowns. Katherine Clark called it "irresponsible and purposefully misleading," while Pramila Jayapal noted "the tragedy here is all the civilian employees." Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez remarked on how abnormal it is "to hold a hundred thousand workers’ paychecks hostage." Jerry Nadler described shutdowns as an "extremist policy."