House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that Democrats are deliberately dragging out the government shutdown for political cover while trying to shift blame to Republicans.
He argued that Republicans have already passed measures to keep the government open and pay federal workers.
"They are trying their best to distract the American people from the simple fact they’ve chosen a partisan fight so they can prove to their Marxist-rising base in the Democrat Party that they are willing to fight Trump and Republicans," Johnson said on "Fox News Sunday."
The Louisiana Republican insisted that his party has agreed to hold "thoughtful conversations" about continuing Obamacare subsidies.
He added that President Donald Trump, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had previously agreed to debate the issue once the government reopens.
However, he said, Democrats are wasting valuable time that could be used to finalize budget talks, citing a Democrat-led counterproposal that included $1.5 trillion in new spending and reversed Republican efforts to eliminate fraud and waste in Medicaid.
"They wanted to give money back for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and claw back the elimination of fraud, waste, and abuse that we took out of Medicaid," Johnson said. "What they are saying today makes no sense."
He also rejected claims that GOP proposals would harm rural hospitals or remove Medicaid recipients from coverage.
Instead, he blamed the Affordable Care Act for rising costs and closures.
"The rural hospitals are in trouble not because of Republican policies but the legacy of what has happened under Obamacare," Johnson said. "Premiums have risen exponentially since 2010.
"They are not affordable. It was never designed to be affordable."
Johnson said Republicans have offered reforms to Medicaid that cut waste while expanding coverage for the disabled, elderly, and pregnant women.
"We are shoring up the program and fixing healthcare," he said. "Obamacare is what broke it."
Johnson also addressed comments from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who criticized GOP leaders on social media for not having a plan to prevent health insurance premiums from rising.
Johnson said he personally called Greene "a couple of nights ago" to explain that committees are already working on solutions and invited her to join those discussions.
"There are many Republicans in Congress working around the clock on this," Johnson said. "We have hundreds of ideas literally on the table to fix healthcare, make it more affordable, and increase the quality of care."
He added that Greene does not sit on the committees handling the issue, but said she was welcome to contribute ideas.
Johnson dismissed claims from Democrats that Republicans are blocking troop pay during the shutdown, saying the House voted on Sept. 19, to continue paying military personnel. "We already voted to pay the troops," he said. "The ball is in the Senate’s court."
As for Schumer’s claim that voters will blame Republicans for the shutdown, Johnson said the Senate leader "is incapable of telling the truth right now."
"Every eighth-grade civics student can point out the fallacy in what he just said," Johnson said. "We just need seven more weeks to finish this, and right now they’re eating up the clock for political cover."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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