Johnson Reveals Real Reason Schumer’s Keeping Govt. Shutdown
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) blasted Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for allegedly scheming to keep the government shut down until after a radical left-wing demonstration scheduled for October 18 on the National Mall — a move Republicans say is designed to placate the Democratic Party’s activist base.
Speaking from the U.S. Capitol on the 13th day of the shutdown, Johnson said House Republicans have learned that top Democratic leaders are stalling budget talks to avoid angering far-left groups attending the so-called “No Kings” rally in Washington, D.C.
“They have a Hate America rally scheduled for Oct. 18 on the National Mall. Pro-Hamas, Antifa people, they’re all coming out. House Democrats are selling T-shirts for the event,” Johnson said. “It’s being told to us they can’t reopen the government until after that rally, because they can’t face their rabid base!”
Johnson accused Democrats of holding the economy hostage while attempting to force through billions in wasteful foreign spending and left-wing pet projects.
“They would send half a billion dollars to liberal news outlets by refunding the corporation for public broadcasting and also restore up to $5 billion of American taxpayer funds for wasteful spending for international projects,” Johnson said.
He went on to highlight several examples from the Democrats’ counterproposal:
“$24.6 million of your hard-earned dollars for climate resilience in Honduras. $13.4 million for civic engagement in Zimbabwe. $3.9 million for democracy grants in the western Balkans and $2.9 million for desert locust risk reduction in the Horn of Africa. $2 million for quote organizing for feminist democratic principles in Africa,” Johnson said. “We aren’t doing that. These are unserious proposals from unserious people, and they are playing games while real Americans are being harmed adversely by the shutdown.”
The White House, meanwhile, distanced itself from Schumer’s earlier remark that the shutdown was “getting better” for Democrats — a comment that sparked bipartisan backlash and underscored how deep the partisan divide has become.
Two of President Trump’s Cabinet secretaries also accused Democrats of intentionally prolonging the shutdown to allow the October 18 rally to proceed.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the “No Kings” slogan is symbolic of Democrats’ misplaced priorities.
“‘No Kings’ means no paychecks, no paychecks and no government,” Bessent remarked.
While Democrats have largely stood behind Schumer, a few within the party are beginning to break ranks. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) criticized his own party’s approach, warning that the shutdown sends the wrong message at home and abroad.
“Shutting our government down. That’s the wrong message for the world, for Americans as well, too. I don’t care whose that blame is. It’s not about a blame game. It’s about opening this government,” Fetterman said.
He added that refusing to negotiate only hurts everyday citizens:
“Really, the losers are these poor Americans here that are going to get caught in the middle of this thing.”
Fetterman joined a small group of bipartisan senators — including Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Independent Angus King of Maine — in supporting a Republican-led stopgap bill designed to reopen the government temporarily. The measure fell short of the 60 votes required to advance but revealed cracks in Democratic unity over the shutdown strategy.
As the standoff enters its third week, Speaker Johnson and Senate Republicans say the White House and Schumer-led Senate must choose between appeasing radical activists or putting working Americans first.