House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) delivered a stark warning to his Democratic colleagues on Monday as the partial federal government shutdown, now in its 13th day, threatens to break historical records.
The Speaker demanded that Democrats abandon their legislative demands and pass a “clean, no-strings-attached budget” to immediately reopen the government and ensure federal workers are paid.
“We’re barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history unless Democrats drop their partisan demands and pass a clean, no-strings-attached budget to reopen the government and pay our federal workers,” Johnson said during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol.
The partial shutdown began on October 1st after a House-passed “clean” continuing resolution (CR)—a temporary funding measure—failed to garner the necessary 60 votes in the Senate. The House bill would extend current fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal funding levels through November 21st to allow for more time to negotiate a long-term FY 2026 appropriations agreement.
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The Democratic caucus in the Senate largely opposed the measure, insisting on linking a funding bill to other policy concessions. Their demands include an extension of expiring tax credits for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and a push for what Republicans describe as “massive increases in temporary spending,” some of which would be allocated toward healthcare benefits for undocumented immigrants.
Only three members of the Senate Democratic caucus—Senators John Fetterman (D-PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Independent Senator Angus King (I-ME), who caucuses with Democrats—have voted with Republicans to end the funding lapse.
To underscore his call for a “clean” bill, Speaker Johnson invoked the words of a former Democratic president.
“There is one way out of this reckless and damaging Republican shutdown: Congress has to pass a budget that funds our government with no partisan strings attached,” Johnson read, before clarifying the source. “What I just read was a direct quote. Those are not my words. They belong to President Barack Obama. He was speaking there in 2013 when our government was shut down for 16 days.”
The Speaker noted that the 2013 shutdown was the third-longest in U.S. history, and with the current closure already at 13 days—the fifth-longest on record—the government is rapidly approaching that mark.
“If Democrats keep up their obstruction here today, that’s where we’re going to be headed,” Johnson warned.
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history lasted 35 days, from December 2018 to January 2019. The second-longest was a 21-day lapse under President Bill Clinton between December 1995 and January 1996. The current impasse is widely projected to stretch beyond the 16-day mark, further cementing its place among the most protracted funding battles in American history.
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