House Speaker Mike Johnson excoriated Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and blamed the government shutdown on Schumer’s fears of New York City Democratic nominee for mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Johnson and the rest of Republican leadership spoke to reporters for the third consecutive day as the government shutdown entered the weeklong mark. Johnson rattled off a series of headlines from various states with Democratic senators about how airlines face numerous challenges, food banks see increased use and national parks will be closed.
“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.”
As of right now, Schumer, who is Jewish and a staunch defender of Israel, has yet to endorse Mamdani, who has sharply criticized the Israeli government for its response after the October 7 attack.
Schumer also faced criticism in March when he joined Republicans to pass a stopgap spending measure known as a continuing resolution that the Republican-controlled House passed with little to no Democratic input.
That prompted calls for Schumer, who is not up for re-election until 2028, to face a primary challenge from a left-wing Democrat such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
“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.
Many state-run exchanges have sent notices that say premiums will double if the extensions are not extended.
Johnson’s fellow Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia also criticized Johnson and the rest of House Republican leadership for not having a plan to extend the tax credits, saying she is “absolutely disgusted” that premiums would double.
In addition, some Republicans fear that federal workers who are furloughed would not receive back pay, even though President Donald Trump signed legislation in 2019 to ensure they would receive back pay.
“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.”
