Speaker Johnson Blames Democrats for Government Shutdown, Calls it 'Entirely Avoidable'

Government Shutdown and its Impact

• 🏛️ The United States government has shut down at midnight due to Democrats following through on their threat.
• 🚫 Tens of thousands of visitors, including school groups, will be unable to experience the National Mall and Capitol grounds.
• 📉 Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are receiving furlough notices, with nearly half of the civilian workforce sent home.
• ⚠️ Troops and border patrol agents will work without pay, and food assistance, veterans benefits, and vital support for women and children are coming to a halt.

Blame and Demands

• 🗣️ Speaker Mike Johnson asserts that the shutdown was entirely avoidable and that Democrats could have worked in a bipartisan manner.
• 💰 Democrats are accused of prioritizing taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal aliens over keeping the government open for American citizens.
• 💸 Democrats demanded over $1.5 trillion in new federal spending in exchange for a continuing resolution, which Republicans reject.

Republican Actions and Proposals

• ✅ The House passed a common sense, nonpartisan bill to keep the government open, with only one Democrat joining the Republicans.
• ⏳ A clean, bipartisan continuing resolution would buy Congress seven more weeks to finish appropriations work.
• 🤝 This is the first time in years that a conference committee has been constituted for appropriations, indicating a return to regular order.

Historical Precedent and Democratic Actions

• 📊 Democrats have voted for similar clean, bipartisan continuing resolutions 13 times in the last few years during the Biden administration.
• 🇺🇸 Republicans are accused of acting responsibly in the past, even in the minority, to keep the government open.
• 🗓️ The current situation is attributed to the man in the Oval Office rather than the legislation itself.

Call to Action

• 📢 The responsibility for the government remaining open or reopening lies entirely with the Democrats.
• 🙏 Speaker Johnson encourages Democrat colleagues to pass the clean, bipartisan bill and do the right and responsible thing.
• 🤝 This press conference is a joint effort between Republican leadership in the House and the Senate.