Republicans control the federal government. Republicans also shut down the government. The party of Donald Trump and Mike Johnson refuses to open the government.
Once Democrats failed to concede in the face of the government shutdown, President Mike Johnson found himself in a bind.
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Johnson believed 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 own CR, which would eliminate Obamacare subsidies for 23 million Americans.
Instead, Democrats dug in and put pressure on Johnson. The story has become that the Speaker refuses to open the House and direct the affairs of the people. Johnson faced questions about why the House was not called back into session.
House Republicans still get paid, but they don’t show up for work. At the same time, Republicans are forcing federal workers to work without pay even though they are paid not to work.
The fact that Johnson didn’t see those terrible optics coming a mile away shows just how in over his head this Speaker of the House is.
Johnson, Thune and Trump bungled the entire shutdown. They don’t have a plan to get out of this, which is why Johnson is using his press conferences for damage control.
Learn more and watch Johnson’s video below.