WASHINGTON — On Day 17 of the Democrat Shutdown, Speaker Johnson held a press conference alongside House GOP Leadership and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers to discuss Senate Democrats not just blocking pay for U.S. troops through the clean CR, but also by rejecting a standalone bill to fund our nation’s defense. Speaker Johnson also addressed the Democrats’ “Hate America” rallies taking place across the country tomorrow.
Watch Speaker Johnson’s full remarks here.
On Senate Democrats continuing to block pay for U.S. troops and defense:
If you’re keeping count at home, we’re on Day 17 of the shutdown. The Democrats have now voted for the 11th time to keep the government closed. 11 times now, they’ve refused to just do their basic job, get the government going again, making sure that federal employees are paid, that our troops are paid, Border Patrol agents, TSA agents, air traffic controllers, and everyone else who relies upon the vital services of our federal government.
They’re being denied that because Democrats in Congress are playing games. And right now, to add insult to injury, if you’re paying attention at home, you also need to make note of this. Yesterday, the Senate Democrats took it a step further. They rejected a standalone bill to fund our nation’s defense and pay our troops. They voted it down. Now, why is that so noteworthy? Well, the bill was passed out of committee in the Senate with broad bipartisan support, and yet the Democrats still engaged in a stunt on the floor, and they rejected it. So now they are on record, specifically and exclusively, to block the paychecks of the troops, to block the funding of our national defense in a very dangerous moment in world history. It is absurd to us. Leader Thune said this on the floor after that vote, he said, “That one vote demonstrates just how fundamentally disinterested Democrats are in supporting our troops and providing for our common defense.” Yes, that is exactly what we saw. And I suspect, if they were here today and it was on the floor, they’d do it once again.
On Democrats caring more about spectacle than substance:
For many of our Democrat colleagues, tomorrow is about creating really a spectacle. That’s what they’ve been doing here every day of the shutdown with their little TikTok videos and their publicity stunts. And they’re going to do it in a much larger venue tomorrow. And as the shutdown drags on, it’s becoming increasingly clear that this spectacle is the reason the Democrats have refused to reopen the government. Just read a sample of the materials that this organizing group has circulated far and wide about the event tomorrow. They distributed talking points, cheering on the shutdown. I mean, they’re urging this on. They love this. They’re cheering on Chuck Schumer’s decision to close the government. And their lead organizer said this is his words, not mine. “He hasn’t surrendered yet. I call that progress.” Maybe that’s what led Chuck Schumer to say that every day of the shutdown gets better for us. That’s what he said.
Since then, Democrats have had their 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th opportunities to reopen the government, and they have obeyed the mob. They have listened to that on Wednesday. This is pretty ominous. I don’t know if anybody’s reported on this, but you should. The lead organizer of tomorrow’s event issued an open threat to Democrats in Washington. And this is what he said: “The cavalry is coming in on October 18, and they’re either going to be celebrating you or they’re going to be calling for new leadership in the Democrat party.” Now, know who heard that? Chuck Schumer heard it. Hakeem Jeffries heard it. And their actions and their votes show that they are taking that as an order. Evidently, they’ve decided it’s more important to show a fight to President Trump and appease this mob than to reopen the government and ensure the American people are taken care of.
On Democrats catering to their Far-Left base at the “Hate America” rally this weekend:
Tomorrow, the Democrat Leaders are going to join for a big party out on the National Mall. They’re going to descend on our Capitol for their much anticipated, so-called “No Kings” rally. We refer to it by its more accurate description, the “Hate America” rally. And I’m not sure how anybody can refute that. If you think about what’s going to happen here tomorrow, you’re going to bring together the Marxists, the Socialists, the Antifa advocates, the anarchists, and the pro-Hamas wing of the Far-Left Democratic party. That is the modern Democratic party. That’s where they’ve gone. And the Hate America rally is the common theme among all those groups. Listen to the language they use themselves.
Many of them don’t like living in America. They hate capitalism. They hate our free enterprise system. They hate our principles. They hate the ideas that we come in to work every day to fight for, to preserve, in the greatest nation in the history of the world. They hate the idea of individual freedom and limited government. They hate the idea of the rule of law. They fight against it all the time. They hate the idea of peace through strength. They lobby against it all the time. Individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, human dignity, the things that lead to human flourishing, the things that made us the greatest nation in the history of the world. They’re opposed to law enforcement. They’re opposed to military. And their votes show it over and over. That’s the collection of voices that you’ll hear tomorrow that the Democrats will go out and raise their hands with and cheer with. And some of these people are so blinded by their hatred of President Donald Trump, that they can’t find one reason to celebrate America or all that we’ve accomplished and continue to accomplish under this new Administration.
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