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House Speaker Mike Johnson revealed on Tuesday that Democrats are demanding billions in wasteful and ideological spending, including $3.9 million for LGBTQI+ democracy grants in the Western Balkans, as part of their conditions to reopen the government.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the 14th day of what he called the Democrat government shutdown, Johnson said the American people are suffering because Democrats have chosen politics over responsibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cWelcome to day 14 of the Democrat government shutdown,\u201d Johnson said during his press briefing. \u201cIt\u2019s two weeks of Democrats in Congress inflicting untold pain on the American people for nothing other than pure politics.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson explained that House Republicans had already offered a clean continuing resolution to keep the government funded, but Democrats repeatedly rejected it.<\/p>\n
Instead, he said, Democrats are tying unrelated left-wing priorities to essential government operations in an attempt to strong-arm Republicans into approving radical spending measures.<\/p>\n
He accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of catering to what he described as the party\u2019s \u201cMarxist base.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Speaker laid out details from the Democrats\u2019 counterproposal, calling it a $1.5 trillion wish list of reckless spending that would send taxpayer money to liberal causes and foreign projects that have nothing to do with running the U.S. government.<\/p>\n
Among the examples he cited were $24.6 million for climate resilience programs in Honduras.<\/p>\n
Another $13.4 million would go to civic engagement programs in Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n
An additional $2.9 million is earmarked for desert locust risk reduction in the Horn of Africa.<\/p>\n
The Democrats\u2019 plan also calls for $2 million to fund \u201corganizing for feminist democratic principles\u201d in Africa, according to Johnson.<\/p>\n
Johnson highlighted the $3.9 million in LGBTQI+ democracy grants for the Western Balkans as an example of Democrats\u2019 misplaced priorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey want to spend 3.9 million of your hard-earned dollars for LGBTQI+ democracy grants in the Western Balkans,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWe are not doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He argued that Democrats are also trying to undo common-sense reforms enacted by Republicans that prevent illegal immigrants from accessing taxpayer-funded healthcare.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a fact,\u201d he said. \u201cThey would add illegal aliens and non-citizens back to taxpayer-funded benefits. It would cost taxpayers nearly $200 billion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson further warned that Democrats want to roll back modest work requirements placed on able-bodied young men without dependents.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Democrats are pushing to make COVID-era Obamacare subsidies permanent, with no income limits or meaningful reforms.<\/p>\n
Johnson said this approach would not only punish working Americans but also reward dependency and mismanagement.<\/p>\n
The Speaker accused Democrats of prioritizing ideological projects over the immediate needs of the American people.<\/p>\n
He said their proposal exposes how out of touch the party has become, highlighting spending for causes abroad while Americans face uncertainty at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not about keeping the lights on,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThis is about Democrats trying to use the shutdown as leverage to fund their far-left agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson reminded reporters that Republicans have already passed legislation to reopen the government responsibly, without any of the unrelated political riders Democrats insist on including.<\/p>\n
The Republican plan, he said, would maintain government operations, protect taxpayers, and prevent wasteful spending abroad.<\/p>\n
Johnson also pointed out that the Democrats\u2019 proposal would restore funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, sending a half-billion dollars to what he described as liberal media outlets that have long benefited from taxpayer subsidies.<\/p>\n
He described it as another example of Democrats using government funding to reward their political allies rather than serving the public good.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are not the priorities of the American people,\u201d Johnson said firmly. \u201cThey are the priorities of a radical political class that has forgotten who they work for.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Speaker ended his remarks by calling on Democrats to stop the political games and join Republicans in reopening the government immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a clean bill ready to go,\u201d he said. \u201cIt keeps the government open, pays our troops, secures the border, and protects hardworking taxpayers. Democrats need to stop holding America hostage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson\u2019s comments reflect growing frustration among House Republicans who say Democrats are using the shutdown to push through spending on social experiments, foreign projects, and activist groups under the guise of government funding.<\/p>\n
He warned that such spending will only deepen America\u2019s fiscal crisis and fuel public anger toward Washington\u2019s political class.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a moment for leadership,\u201d Johnson concluded. \u201cIt\u2019s time to put the American people first and end this shutdown\u2014not by giving in to woke demands, but by standing firm for fiscal sanity and common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Senator Ted Cruz launched a blistering attack against Democratic leadership, blaming them squarely for a government shutdown that has lingered into its 29th day.<\/p>\n
According to Cruz, the shutdown is not about genuine policy negotiation but about protecting Chuck Schumer and appeasing the radical left\u2011wing of his party.<\/p>\n
Cruz argued that Democrats, under Schumer\u2019s guidance, intentionally allowed the funding for the federal government to lapse.<\/p>\n
He said their demands\u2014among them taxpayer\u2011funded healthcare for undocumented immigrants and the reversal of work requirements for able\u2011bodied adults\u2014are so extreme they have effectively triggered this standoff.<\/p>\n
In Cruz\u2019s view, this is not a simple budget dispute but a political maneuver. \u201cThis is all about political saving Chuck\u202fSchumer\u2019s rear end,\u201d Cruz declared, accusing Schumer of throwing American taxpayers under the bus in order to placate his party\u2019s base.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe\u2019re on day\u00a029 of the stupidest shutdown. This is the SCHUMER Shutdown.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cruz\u2019s words reflect deep frustration over the failure of the Senate to approve even a clean funding measure, even though the House passed one.<\/p>\n
He painted the situation starkly: \u201cThe reason the government is shut down is that Chuck\u202fSchumer has a political problem. And he has a political problem from right where you\u2019re sitting right now, from New\u202fYork.\u201d Cruz went on to assert that progressives in the Democratic Party almost removed Schumer from his leadership post after an earlier decision to allow funding to continue\u2014yet now Schumer is playing to that same base by refusing to open the government.<\/p>\n
Cruz accused Democrats of hypocrisy, pointing out that when shutdowns happened under Democratic leadership in the past, they condemned the tactic. Now, he says, they are using it as a weapon for pure politics rather than public service.<\/p>\n
He warned that at some point \u201cseven or eight Democrats are going to have some sense come into them.\u201d According to Cruz, it\u2019s likely that these will be retiring Democrats\u2014those no longer worried about a primary challenge\u2014who are free to break ranks because they don\u2019t face the same pressure from the radical left\u2011wing base. In his telling, those in danger of primaries must pander to extreme positions, thus forcing the shutdown.<\/p>\n
Cruz emphasized that while the shutdown continues, essential services are still functioning, but many federal workers are going without pay. The underlying damage, he said, goes beyond the immediate. He argued the shutdown erodes public trust in government, hurts working families and veterans, and punishes taxpayers who did nothing to create the mess.<\/p>\n
He urged Americans to see the shutdown for what it is: not a noble policy stand, but a power move. \u201cWe\u2019re\u00a0NOT<\/em>\u00a0watching public policy, or elected officials who give a D\u2011MN about the people they represent!\u201d Cruz exclaimed, shifting into a more emotional tone to emphasize his point that ordinary citizens are suffering while political games play out.<\/p>\n Cruz pointed specifically to the issue of illegal immigration and healthcare. He argued that Democrats\u2019 refusal to reopen the government without addressing their demands for undocumented immigrants is proof that this is about something other than funding normal government operations.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir demands include taxpayer\u2011funded healthcare for illegal aliens and a reversal of the Republican reforms blocking handouts to able\u2011bodied adults who refuse to work.\u201d<\/p>\n He also suggested the Democrats are exploiting the shutdown to demonstrate to their base that they are willing to \u201cstand up\u201d against Donald Trump and Republicans\u2014even if that means harming the country in the process.<\/p>\n \u201cThey almost threw [Schumer] out of the job as minority leader\u2026 This shutdown exists for one purpose, and it\u2019s for him to tell the crazy left\u2011wing base\u2026 I hate Donald\u202fTrump as much as you do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Cruz urged Republicans and the American public to hold their ground: not to allow the Democrats to continue using the shutdown as leverage.<\/p>\n He called for clean funding measures\u2014free from what he described as extraneous partisan policy riders\u2014to be approved immediately.<\/p>\n According to him, the first priority should be reopening the government, then negotiating policy reforms rather than forcing them through the appropriation process.<\/p>\n He stressed that constituents should issue pressure: \u201cIf your senator tells you this is just about principles and policy, ask them whose principles and whose policy.\u201d<\/p>\n Cruz asserted that the agenda being pushed is not aligned with the values of most Americans or taxpayers, but rather with a specific faction within the left\u2011wing of the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n Cruz also addressed the optics: he said the public looks at this and sees dysfunction. He warned that the longer the shutdown drags on, the greater the risk of long\u2011term damage\u2014not only to federal operations but to faith in governance itself.<\/p>\n \u201cYou do not build trust in government by shutting it down. You build it by opening it, doing work, and delivering for the people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" House Speaker Mike Johnson revealed on Tuesday that Democrats are demanding billions in wasteful and ideological spending, including $3.9 million for LGBTQI+ democracy grants in the Western Balkans, as part of their…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t