Summary
- House Speaker Mike Johnson blamed the shutdown on Chuck Schumer.
- Johnson linked Schumer’s stance to fears of NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
- Johnson claims the House passed a "clean" funding bill; Senate Democrats blocked it.
As the government shutdown approached the week-long milestone, Johnson and other Republican leaders addressed reporters for the third day in a row. Johnson ran off a string of stories from different states with Democratic senators concerning the closure of national parks, the increased usage of food banks, and the many difficulties faced by airlines.
“I could do this all day,”
Johnson told reporters.
“There is one sad and inescapable fact that no one can forget here: This shutdown is nothing more than political cover for Chuck Schumer and the Democrats,”
Johnson told reporters.
“The Marxists are about to elect a mayor in New York City. That's Chuck Schumer state. He's terrified that he's going to get a challenge from his far left.”
Mamdani has been harshly critical of the Israeli government's response to the October 7 attack, but Schumer, a Jewish and ardent supporter of Israel, has not yet endorsed him.
In March, Schumer also came under fire for joining Republicans in passing a continuing resolution, a stopgap budget package that was passed by the Republican-controlled House with little to no Democratic participation.
“So they picked a fight on something that's not even related at all to the shutdown and the funding that we should have gotten done by the end of September,”
Johnson said at his press conference.
“We just need a stop gap measure to give us a little more time to get the job of Congress done.”
But this time around, Democrats have largely united to oppose a continuing resolution that would keep the government open in hopes that they can get Republicans to extend Covid-era enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces.
Notices have been delivered by numerous state-run exchanges stating that if the extensions are not renewed, rates will quadruple.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a fellow Republican, also blasted Johnson and the other members of the House Republican leadership for failing to come up with a proposal to prolong the tax credits, stating that she is "absolutely disgusted" that rates will increase.
Furthermore, despite President Donald Trump signing legislation in 2019 to guarantee back pay for federal workers who are furloughed, several Republicans are concerned that they won't get it.
“Federal workers, it's my understanding that the law is that they would be paid and that’s my position,”
he said.
“They should not be subjected to harm and financial dire straits because Chuck Schumer wants to play political games.”
How did Schumer publicly respond to Johnson's accusation?
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer publicly pushed back on House Speaker Mike Johnson's allegations, blaming him and Republican House members for the government shutdown. He noted on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" and "Face the Nation" on CBS that Republicans have the presidency, Senate, and House, placing them at fault for the government shut down.
Schumer went on to question Johnson's judgment in sending the House home for two weeks while negotiating to make it more challenging to come to some sort of resolution.
Lastly, Schumer also denied and countered Johnson's claims regarding Democrats supporting healthcare benefits for undocumented immigrants, dubbing those claims "fake lies" while explaining that there are no federal funds that would go to undocumented immigrants with regard to health benefits under Medicare, Medicaid or the ACA.