Republicans control the federal government. Republicans have also shut down the government. The party of Donald Trump and Mike Johnson refuses to open the government.
When Democrats failed to budge on the government shutdown, Speaker Mike Johnson had painted himself into a corner.
Johnson thought that by keeping the House closed for a month, he would not give Senate Democrats a way out and force them to vote for his clean CR, which would wipe out Obamacare subsidies for 23 million Americans.
Instead, Democrats dug in and put pressure on Johnson. The story became that the Speaker refuses to open the House and conduct the people’s affairs. Johnson is facing questions about why the House of Representatives has not been called back into session.
Republicans in the House of Representatives still get paid but don’t show up for work. At the same time, Republicans are forcing federal employees to work without pay while getting paid for not working.
That Johnson didn’t see these terrible optics coming from a mile away proves how far in over his head this Speaker of the House is.
Johnson, Thune and Trump botched the entire shutdown. They have no plan to get out, which is why Johnson uses his press conferences to limit the damage.
Read more below and watch Johnson’s video.
