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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 John Kennedy is once again cutting through Washington\u2019s theatrics with brutal honesty.<\/p>\n
The Louisiana Republican accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of staging political drama instead of doing his job to reopen the government.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Fox Business host Larry Kudlow, Kennedy described the shutdown as a \u201cpolitical performance,\u201d not a genuine policy disagreement.<\/p>\n
He said Schumer is more concerned with keeping up appearances for his party\u2019s radical wing than with serving the American people.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will end eventually,\u201d Kennedy said, \u201cwhen Senator Schumer goes to six or eight of his members and Democrats and says, \u2018Do me a favor. Vote to open it back up. I may have to criticize you. I\u2019m not going to vote with you, but I need a way out of this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy made clear that Schumer\u2019s priority isn\u2019t compromise \u2014 it\u2019s saving face.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s gonna tell \u2018em, \u2018Now, look, I gotta vote no. And I gotta dogcuss you a little bit. We gotta have some play acting and make this look good. And then we come out of the shutdown,\u2019\u201d Kennedy said, describing how Schumer will secretly orchestrate the outcome he publicly opposes.<\/p>\n
According to Kennedy, the government shutdown is less about real disagreements and more about political optics. Schumer, he said, is acting out a script to appease the far-left members of his caucus \u2014 what Kennedy calls the \u201cmoon wing\u201d of the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know him. Well, this shutdown is not about policy. It\u2019s about politics,\u201d Kennedy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Senator Schumer, this is what\u2019s going on. He is trying to get the moon wing, the socialist wing of the Democratic Party, which is in control, to love him. And they will never love him.\u201d<\/p>\n
That blunt assessment paints a damning picture of the Democratic leadership. Schumer, Kennedy argues, is beholden to extremists who refuse to compromise, even at the expense of the country.<\/p>\n
The Louisiana senator said Schumer\u2019s strategy is simple: keep the government closed until Republicans and President Trump agree to hand over billions in new spending \u2014 spending that Democrats will control. \u201cWhat he\u2019s saying,\u201d Kennedy explained, \u201cis we\u2019re going to keep government shut down until you Republicans and President Trump give the Democrats $1.5 trillion, and they\u2019re going to tell us how to spend it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy ridiculed the idea that Schumer is fighting for \u201cthe people.\u201d In his view, Schumer is fighting for power, money, and media attention \u2014 and the shutdown is just another stage for him to perform on.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s boning if it looks contrived,\u201d Kennedy warned. \u201cHe can\u2019t look like he\u2019s having a mutiny.\u201d That\u2019s why, Kennedy says, Schumer must choreograph his next steps carefully, pretending to fight while quietly coordinating votes behind the scenes.<\/p>\n
Kennedy\u2019s description of this \u201cplay acting\u201d matches what many Americans have long suspected: that the partisan battles on the Senate floor are largely theater designed to manipulate the public.<\/p>\n
Schumer, Kennedy said, is obsessed with being seen as strong by the socialist faction of his party \u2014 even though that same faction will never accept him. \u201cHe\u2019d be better off doing what he did back in March and just calling it like he saw it and keeping government open,\u201d Kennedy added.<\/p>\n
The senator\u2019s comments came after Schumer led most Democrats in voting down the Republicans\u2019 spending bill earlier in the week, prolonging the shutdown. Kennedy said that move was pure political posturing.<\/p>\n
\u201cSchumer knows exactly what he\u2019s doing,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cHe\u2019s trying to look tough for his base while still leaving himself a backdoor exit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy argued that Schumer is being held hostage by his own party\u2019s extremists \u2014 the same people who demand funding for what Kennedy called \u201cwasteful foreign projects\u201d and ideological programs.<\/p>\n
The Louisiana senator said Democrats are fighting to reinstate spending for overseas LGBTQ initiatives, electric buses in Rwanda, Palestinian media operations, and sterilization programs abroad \u2014 all things Republicans already removed from the budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not fighting for the American taxpayer,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cHe\u2019s fighting for his image and for foreign projects nobody asked for.\u201d<\/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":4593,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4594","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