Johnson accuses Democrats of “playing politics” amid the government shutdown

Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike JohnsonThe Republican lawmaker from Los Angeles accused Democrats on Friday of “playing politics” with American lives amid the ongoing government shutdown.

“Chuck Schumer Democrats are playing politics with the lives of the real American people. “He’s getting accolades now from the far left,” Johnson said. “That was the whole goal. They had to appease the Marxist base of the Democratic Party, so they picked this fight now. It’s ridiculous.”

After watching a clip of the House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, DN.Y., Johnson blamed Republicans for the shutdown, telling “Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade that it was “infuriating” to hear the New York Democrat say “the opposite of the truth.”

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“It was three weeks ago today, Brian, when the House voted to pay the troops, pay federal employees, and keep the government open. We passed a clean business resolution,” he added. “Three weeks ago. The ball is in the Senate’s court. This is where the duty must be done now.”

Lawmakers voted late night Thursday on the National Defense Authorization Act for 2026, which advanced on a largely bipartisan vote. But the $925 billion package, which authorizes funding for the Pentagon, was effectively the final decision of the week in the Senate.

While there was discussion about bringing the House GOP’s continuing resolution, along with the congressional Democrats’ counterproposal, to a final vote, the plan never came to fruition. It is possible that both have failed for the eighth time in a row.

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Johnson criticized Democrats for voting to “stop paying checks to troops and federal workers,” adding that 2 million civilian employees and 1.3 million active-duty military service members would remain without pay as a result.

The Speaker of the House was asked about the impact of the ongoing government shutdown on ordinary Americans, who, for example, may face flight cancellations due to the TSA being funded by the government.

“Real harm to real people,” Johnson replied. “We’re hearing it from our constituents. House Republicans are now working in their districts, trying to help people through this crisis that Democrats have created.”

“I mean, it’s health services, it’s nutrition services for young mothers and babies, it’s, you know, all kinds of services that are being provided. FEMA, they can’t write flood insurance policies in the middle of hurricane season because of this crap. And we’re very angry about that,” he added.

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Johnson noted that while he may be a “patient man,” he has “faced these people” and reiterated that Democrats are “playing with the lives of real people.”

“The theory we have now is that they have a ‘Hate America’ rally scheduled for October 18 on the National Mall. The whole pro-Hamas wing and the Antifa group, they’re all coming out. Some House Democrats are selling T-shirts for the event. We’re told they won’t be able to reopen the government until after that rally because they can’t stand up to their rabid base,” the House Speaker said.

The march Johnson referred to is the “No to Kings” protest, which will be held on October 18 in cities across the United States. The goal of the protest is to oppose the president Donald Trump And his administration, and to show the world that “America has no kings, and power belongs to the people.”

At the conclusion of his remarks, Johnson said: “There has never been, in the history of Congress, a party willing to shut down the government over a clean business record.” He added that there was nothing he could remove from the bill to make it more “palatable to Democrats,” stressing that Republicans had not just filled the measure with their own priorities.

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“We simply said, ‘Give us seven more weeks to finish the government funding process, the appropriations process, and let’s all work together,'” he said. “And they chose this moment to pick a fight against President Trump because they have derangement syndrome, which is very real, and to show that they are fighting Republicans.” “For what?! For what?! They are hurting the American people, and I just suffered.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Schumer and Jeffries for comment.