House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., laid blame for the continuing government shutdown squarely on the Democrats who the congressman says have caused "real pain for real Americans."
Speaking to host Joe Kernen on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday, Johnson lamented that Democrats have voted down the continuing resolution nine times, leading to a now three-week — and counting — government shutdown.
Congressional leaders are negotiating government funding, with Democrats requesting that Republicans consider changes related to healthcare, specifically regarding Affordable Care Act tax credits scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
Johnson said that the healthcare subsidies are a "red herring," and the Democrats want to "add $1.5 trillion in new spending on a seven-week stopgap funding measure."
"They want to give healthcare paid for by U.S. taxpayers to illegal aliens. Yes; that is in the bill."
"Page 57, look at section 2141. They want to unwind all we cut, all their fraud, waste, and abuse from the One Big Beautiful Bill," he added.
"They want to reverse all that. They want to give $500 million to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting again," Johnson said.
"This is not about me; it's about the American people."
"This is not a healthcare fight. This is a very simple funding fight. It always was," Johnson continued.
"They have created a red herring; the subsidies don't expire until the end of the year."
The speaker noted that the Obamacare subsides needed reform because there was never any income cap, adding, "You have very wealthy people getting subsidized for healthcare."
"Today, the issue is to get the government open again so that we don't hurt our economy, hurt our national security, and hurt the American people who depend upon all these services. It's plain and simple," Johnson said.
The longest government shutdown was during President Donald Trump's first term from 2018-2019 when federal funding lapsed for 35 days.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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