Speaker Accuses Democrats of Risking Crisis for Political Cover, GOP Leaders Decry ‘Hostage Taking’ Over Health Care and Spending
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has put the blame for the looming government shutdown squarely on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), alleging that the Democrat is deliberately risking national “damage” to appease the far-left wing of his party.
The Republican unity was echoed by Vice President JD Vance, who, following a contentious White House meeting with President Trump and congressional leaders, warned the country is heading for a shutdown due to Democratic inflexibility.
“The principle at stake here is very simple. We have disagreements about tax policy, you don’t shut that government down… you don’t use your policy disagreements as leverage to not pay our troops,” Vance told reporters, laying the blame squarely on Democrats should the government funding lapse before the midnight Tuesday deadline.
Vance described the Democrats’ negotiating position as “putting a gun to the American people’s head,” while Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) similarly accused Democrats of “hostage taking” in their demands.
“I think we’re headed into a shutdown because the Democrats won’t do the right thing. I hope they change their mind,” Vance added, stressing that Republicans are united in their thinking.
“Radical” Demands and Health Care Clashes
Johnson appeared on Fox News Monday, asserting that Democrats are pushing “radical” demands, including restoring benefits for illegal immigrants, funding left-leaning media outlets like NPR and PBS, and demanding a massive $1.5 trillion in new spending for just a seven-week stopgap bill.
“I fully expected that they would come into the White House today and be reasonable. But they weren’t. They dug their heels in,” Johnson said on “Hannity.”
The Speaker claimed Schumer is watching his back against “young socialists,” specifically naming Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who he suggested wants to challenge the Senator for his seat.
“It’s painfully obvious that he’s got to watch his back because the young socialists are coming for him… That is 100% what Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, by extension, are watching for. Their own political cover,” Johnson stated.
Johnson was adamant that Republicans would not bend on the demands. “We’re not doing that. Left-leaning media outlets don’t need to be funded by taxpayers. They want to spend $1.5 trillion on a simple seven-week stop-gap funding measure,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Democratic leaders focused on the high stakes of their demands, particularly for health care. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Trump appeared “completely oblivious” when he laid out the Democrats’ demand to extend enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which are set to expire.
Schumer warned Trump that if the subsidies expire, some families could see their health insurance premiums increase by as much as $400 a month. He also cautioned that dozens of small and rural hospitals could close due to Medicaid cuts enacted by the House-passed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
The stalemate comes just hours before the September 30th deadline. President Trump had already canceled a planned meeting with top Democrats last week, rejecting what he called their “unserious and ridiculous demands.” The House narrowly passed a GOP-backed funding measure, but the Senate needs 60 votes, meaning some Democratic support is necessary to avert a shutdown.
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