CNN host Dana Bash on Thursday grilled House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) about the ongoing government shutdown, asking why “any sort of compromise” with Democrats is out of the question when millions of Americans are about to lose their federal food benefits.
The “Inside Politics” host first asked Johnson if he would accept “a partial government funding deal” to reopen the Department of Agriculture to “alleviate the pain” of people whose food benefits are set to expire Saturday. He rejected the offer as a political stunt.
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“Well, there are a handful of moderate centrist Democrats left in the U.S. Senate, and they are in panic mode right now because they recognize that their votes have been the reason that all this pain and hardship is being experienced by the American people,” said Johnson.
The Republican added, “They have voted now 14 times to impose this hardship and pain. They’re doing it for political purposes. As I’ve explained … they’re worried about the radical left base that is rising, the Democrat Party and some of the leading politicians there.”
Johnson argued that House and Senate Minority Leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have only stayed in the fight out of fear of future challenges from more progressive politicians, naming New York City mayoral race front-runner Zohran Mamdani.
“So here’s the answer,” he told Bash. “We cannot deviate from the number one job and responsibility of the U.S. Congress, and that is to keep the government in operation for the people. And the simplest way to fix this is to reopen the government, not just parts of it.”
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“So they can alleviate a little bit of the pain that they themselves are causing,” he continued in his partisan blaming of Democratic leadership. “Let’s alleviate all the pain and get that done. They have no logical argument why they would not do that.”
The shutdown began after Republicans voted down a Democratic spending bill on Oct. 1 that would extend subsidies for people who get health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. It’s now threatening to end Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments.
Bash noted that while those will expire Saturday and are set to affect more than 20 million households, Trump’s administration has found a way to cover military pay amid the shutdown, and asked Johnson why he’s “drawing the line” at hungry Americans.
“Wait a minute, wait,” he protested. “I reject the premise of the question. I’m not drawing the line. The Democrats are drawing the line. If we had a contingency fund that we could use, that would be done. The White House … the executive branch, all the cabinet secretaries are doing everything they can to mitigate and reduce the pain.”
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The MAGA Republican argued that contingency funds for food benefits can’t be used because Congress didn’t authorize this ahead of the shutdown. Bash pushed back, noting Democrats say that “that’s not what the law shows” — which Johnson said was “ridiculous.”
On Tuesday, Johnson controversially told reporters he’s “so tired” of the situation.
The dozens of millions of Americans fearing access to food benefits are clearly feeling worse. On Tuesday, states led by Democratic governors sued the Trump administration over their refusal to pay those benefits to the 22 million households in question.
