Kim (00:00):
Everyone's in the green room, guys.
Press (00:00):
Thank you.
(00:00)
Thanks, Kim.
Kim (00:00):
You're welcome.
Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (07:46):
Welcome everybody. We're on day 15 of the Democratic government shut down. Not a good day on Capitol Hill. Not a good day across America because real Americans are feeling the pain, due to the Democrat's political nonsense. And we want to specifically focus this morning on one area that's gotten a lot of attention, and one segment of the population that truly deserves better treatment than the Democrats are giving them, and that is our military.
(08:12)
Today, if it weren't for the bold leadership of President Trump helping us to protect our military, everyone needs to understand that 1.3 million active duty service members would be missing a paycheck. They'll get their check, thankfully, because President Trump has shown strong leadership. And under his direction, the Department of War has now redirected unspent funds to ensure that our troops are taken care of. And this is while Democrats are playing political games.
(08:40)
Last night they played some games. They stormed my office. Maybe you saw some of the video online that they themselves shared, or someone did. They berated a Capitol Police officer, screamed at him. He was just merely standing his post. Shows again their disdain for law enforcement, as we see all around the country, the Democrats and everyone in that party: screaming, assaulting the ICE officers. They did it right here in the Capitol last night. A few members of Congress went into the little foyer of my office, and tore down a sign that I had up, and just engaged in all sorts of political stunts and antics. They've been doing that every day now, and it shows their desperation.
(09:18)
It also shows a very strong contrast between the party that is working for the people, and trying to keep the government open, and do the right thing, and the party that is engaging in all this nonsense.
(09:29)
But they've shown by their actions, and now their votes, multiple times now, nine times the Democrats have voted… counting the House and the Senate Democrats… they have voted to not pay the troops. They have voted to block their paychecks. And it's very serious stuff, and they don't seem to care at all.
(09:49)
The problem we have right now is that in spite of President Trump's heroic efforts to make sure they get paid, that is a temporary fix, because the executive branch's help is not permanent. It can't be. And if the Democrats continue to vote to keep the government closed, as they have done now so many times, then we know that US troops are going to risk missing a full paycheck at the end of this month. And that means service members on deployment, who've left their young families back home relying upon these checks. It means service members who are of thousands of miles away from home. It means service members trying to make the rent, and those who have ailing relatives that need to be taken care of.
(10:29)
None of those people will be paid if the Democrat obstruction continues. And it should outrage every American, because it does us. Democrats in Congress, again, have voted nine times. Here's the tally. Every, single time the Republicans have voted to pay the troops, and by the way, all other federal employees, federal workers, and the Democrats have voted over and over to stop it.
(10:51)
And the depressing irony of this, on this particular subject, among all others is that the most pro-shutdown Democrats actually represent the most active duty service members back home, whom they have taken hostage in this insidious political game. And I want to give you a couple of examples, and this is the actual statistic of the 10 states with the largest military populations. Six are represented each by two Democrats in the Senate who are withholding the paychecks.
(11:19)
Here's the list: In California, it's home to 157,000 active duty personnel. The most in the country. Those stationed at Fort Hunter Liggett, and Camp Pendleton, and Edwards Air Force Base and Vandenberg Space Force Base, and others will all miss a paycheck at the end of the month if Democrat obstruction continues.
(11:38)
Now, this is worthy of note, both California senators, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla are gleeful about this government shutdown. They agree with Chuck Schumer when he said very candidly, just a few days ago, "Every day of the shutdown gets better for us." Who's the us? He's talking about Democrats. He thinks this is assisting their party, and giving him political cover, so he doesn't attract a Marxist challenger in his next Senate re-elect. That's what this is about. So he thinks the government shutdown is allowing him to show a fight against President Trump and Republicans. And he is happy about that. And so are Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, while service members are going without paychecks.
(12:19)
Virginia. Virginia's home to 119,000 active duty personnel. It is the second most in the country. Those stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, Quantico, and Fort A.P. Hill, and others will miss paychecks at the end of this month if this is not resolved. Both Virginia senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, are playing political games with the paychecks of 119,000 service members.
(12:43)
Georgia. Georgia's home to 65,000 active duty personnel. It's the sixth most in the country. Those stationed at Fort Benning, Fort Stewart, Moody Air Force Base, and others will miss paychecks. And just last week… This is so
Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (13:00):
… aggravating to us. It's so frustrating to us. It's so wrong. But we saw service members waiting hours in lines, wrapped around the block at Georgia food pantries. And meanwhile, you've got both Georgia Senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, have now voted eight times against paying those heroes. And Washington, the State of Washington, is home to 57,000 active duty personnel. It is the seventh most in the country. And those stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base and Naval Base Kitsap, Joint Base Lewis McCord and others will miss paychecks. Both Washington Senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell had repeatedly voted against pay for service members in the Evergreen State.
(13:43)
Hawaii. Hawaii is home to 43,000 active duty personnel. It is the eighth most in the country. Those stationed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, the Schofield Barracks, and others will miss paychecks. And both Hawaii Senators Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz have voted against paying soldiers stationed in Hawaii. And by the way, many of them are thousands of miles away from their families.Colorado is home to 35,000 active duty personnel, the 10th most in the country. And those stationed at Fort Carson, Buckley Space Force Base, Peterson Space Force Base and others will miss paychecks. And you guessed it, both Democrats, senators are from Colorado, Hickenlooper, John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennett have voted against paying those troops in their state.
(14:27)
And I just want to mention New York, it gets honorable mention, it is in the top 10, but the Empire State is home to 17,000 active duty personnel, the 17th most in the country. Those stationed at Fort Drum and Fort Hamilton and others will miss paychecks. And sadly, both New York Senators, Kirsten Gillibrand and the architect of the shutdown himself, Chuck Schumer can barely hide their delight that the government is closed, and troops are not being paid.
(14:55)
I will just say this, there's something that should be remembered by everyone. Democrats say that even missed paychecks for U.S. troops won't be enough to end this shutdown. The Democrats we just demonstrated, who represent thousands and thousands of the most heroic men and women on the earth, refuse to put their unserious partisan demands to the side and pay the troops. And here are the indisputable facts of this shutdown. Republicans want to pay the troops, and we have shown that with our actions and our votes, now nine times. And the Democrats want to use them as hostages, to extort one and a half trillion dollars in new unserious partisan spending, that we just won't go along with.
(15:39)
We won't sell out the long-term security and future of the United States, so that Chuck Schumer can prevent a primary challenge from his left wing. We will not be a part of that nonsense. And until Schumer and the left wing of his party are satisfied enough, that the pain this shutdown has caused has reached a limit that they're satisfied with, then Republicans are going to stand here every single day. We're going to continue to deliver the simple facts directly to the American people.
(16:04)
And today, we brought in some of our House Republican leaders, who represent many of these military districts, and are so… They're being so deeply and adversely affected by the Democrats' senseless games. And the first up, that I'm delighted to introduce is the Chairman of our Main Street Caucus in the House Republican Conference, and that is Congressman Mike Flood.
Mike Flood (16:27):
Thank you very much. I'll tell you what, the House Republican Main Street Caucus couldn't be more proud of the leadership that we've elected to lead the House of Representatives. We stand united with this team, that's remained in Washington to do God's work, as we work our way through a very difficult shutdown. Speaking of Main Street, let's talk about what this means. I represent Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Nebraska. We have over 10,000 airmen up there. What do we do? We are in charge of deploying the nuclear triad. Think about that. It's very important work.
(17:02)
And today we have 2,300 of our civilian employees furloughed. We're holding diaper drives. The food pantry is getting stocked with more food. There's uncertainty on that base. The men and women who go to work every day to keep us safe, to provide that strategic deterrent on what could be the world's worst day, don't need this stress. We don't need this stress, especially to satisfy the political future of a New York Senate leader. This could have been avoided. He did the right thing, Mr. Schumer did, in March. He's a pro. He knows political calculus. He paid a high price for it. And now, people in my district are paying a high price and it's not right.
(17:53)
And by the way, as a country, we're better than this. We are way better than what's happening across our bases. And so to the people at Offutt Air Force Base and every military installation, the Main Street Caucus is here to say thank you for what you do. Whether you're furloughed or not, we appreciate every single one of you. Thank you again, Mr. Speaker, for having us, and thank you for inviting and including the Main Street Caucus.
Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (18:22):
Well, I'm not going to introduce each of them. I'll ask them to do that themselves, but I do want to introduce you to the Vice Chair of the Main Street Caucus, and that is Congresswoman Laurel Lee, State of Florida.
Laurel Lee (18:36):
Thank you Mr. Speaker, and thank you all for being here today. We are here today, because the American people deserve to know the truth about why our government is shut down. The reality is simple. This shutdown was entirely preventable. It's happening, because Democrats have refused to work with Republicans on our responsible common-sense funding measure. House Republicans did our work. We passed a straightforward extension of funding to keep the government open, while ensuring our troops, our border patrol agents, and all essential services, are fully supported. But at every turn, Senate Democrats have instead chosen obstruction and delay. They voted again and again to stop temporary funding, that would have kept the government open. Again and again, they put partisanship ahead of the needs of the American people.
(19:32)
And it's hardworking American families that are paying the price. In my district, we see these impacts firsthand. At MacDill Air Force Base, there are thousands of brave men and women in uniform. Many have young families in our schools, and spouses who work on base and in our communities. In addition, some of our very best neighbors work as civilian technicians and managers at MacDill, and keep critical services, not just for our community, but for our country, operating.
(20:03)
These are the people who will feel the strain of this shutdown and Washington's dysfunction the most. The service members, the civilian workforce who serves alongside them, and the federal workers and their families. They are now left to worry about their bills, about groceries, about paychecks, all because of political gains by Senate Democrats. They deserve better than this. They deserve leadership that puts our country ahead of politics. House Republicans have already voted, to ensure our service members receive their pay, and we will not allow America's heroes to suffer because of this political brinkmanship.
(20:45)
Thanks to President Trump's leadership, the Pentagon identified funding to make sure that our troops are paid this month, even in the face of this needless shutdown. This is not about politics, it is about priorities. Our priority is the American people. We want to secure our border, to strengthen our military, to restore fiscal sanity to Washington, and ensure that every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely. Senate Democrats have made their priorities clear. They're more interested in protecting wasteful spending and expanding benefits for illegal immigrants, than they are in protecting our service members and our hardworking American families. That is unacceptable.
(21:27)
To the men and women at MacDill Air Force Base, and the families across Florida's 15th Congressional District, and to every American feeling the uncertainty of this shutdown, know this. We are fighting for you. We are fighting to reopen government responsibly, to ensure stability for your families, and to get this country back on track. It's time for Democrats to stop the political games, to stop holding our troops and our federal workers hostage to their agenda, and to join us in putting the American people first. Thank you. And now we have our colleague, Representative LaLota.
Nick LaLota (22:07):
Thank you. Good morning, everybody. Fully funding our military is the most important thing our Congress can do. And 15 days into this shutdown, it's time for Chuck Schumer to do what's right, and show a fraction of the courage and selflessness our troops display every day. Before I came to Congress, I was a Navy man. I deployed overseas three times, alongside some of the most selfless and brave Americans our nation has to offer. These men and women serve their nation in hot engine rooms, overseas, on dangerous aircraft carrier decks, conducting night flight operations, and on island chains, ensuring they didn't become a safe haven for terrorists.
(22:51)
The sailors I served with risked everything, time away from home, injury to themselves, even their own lives, in defense of our great nation. And I think that kind of courage demands some sort of selflessness as well, from our nation's leaders too. Thankfully, President Trump showed the boldness and decisiveness to ensure that our troops got paid, and they didn't miss today's paycheck. That's welcome news for our families who serve out great country, who frankly we don't pay enough as it is.
(23:23)
But true pay is just one piece of the puzzle. A prolonged government shutdown endangers America's national security, halting contracts, furloughing half of the Defense Department's civilian workforce, and disrupting intelligence and operations. It weakens our ability to compete with China, Russia, North Korea, and our other adversaries. It delays training, it delays deployments and housing support, and reduces overall readiness. Like Chuck Schumer, I'm a New Yorker, and I'll say this plainly. The next generation of New York Democrats are socialists, like AOC and Zohran Mamdami. And they're dragging their party towards socialism. They want open borders, they want taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants, and they want government-run grocery stores. Just look at the race right now for New York City Mayor.
(24:15)
Now I know that socialism doesn't come naturally to Chuck Schumer. It was said before that just back in March, he supported the same clean CR that we're asking him to support today. Back in March, he had a backbone, Chuck Schumer. He stood up to his party's radical base, and said he would put the nation before his own political interests. And he took a lot of flak for doing so, and that's why he's changed his course. But we're here today to call on him to do better, and to put the country before his own political job.
(24:45)
And we are asking that he put the hundreds of thousands of federal workers that rely on a continuing resolution, we're asking him to support that. And we're asking him to put the millions of Americans before his own political future. We New Yorkers, we pride ourselves on being tough. So, I'm asking Chuck Schumer to be tough, and to stand up to his own party's base. Stand up to AOC and Mamdami, be brave like our troops, and do your job and reopen our government. I want to introduce my good friend, also a military veteran in Air Force. Don't hold the Air Force part against him. An Air Force colonel who did a hell of a job fighting for his constituents in Iowa, my friend Zach Nunn.
Zach Nunn (25:24):
Thanks, brother. Appreciate it. Whenever you can get the Navy and the Air Force on the same target, we're moving in the right direction. Friends, here's the reality right now. This government shutdown does not have to happen. We have a reality before us, where one and a half million troops, both those active duty, and those in the Guard and Reserve, are on pins and needles where they're going to be able to feed their family marching forward. I'm so proud to be standing with fellow Patriots up here, many of them who have served. I'm one of those members who have served not only in combat, but continue to serve in my Reserve capacity [inaudible 00:25:57] now. I've already committed my drill this weekend,
Zach Nunn (26:00):
… and speaking with frontline members who are serving in uniform, our brothers and sisters, the sons and daughters of families who have sacrificed to have their child be in the military. They all have the same question, why is this happening and what is the mission to be able to stop it? Well, let's be very clear. The House of Representatives has executed its portion of the mission, fully pay our federal government. The majority of the House, the majority of the Senate, the majority of the American people want this. But the reality is there's a handful of individuals in the Senate who have put a stop to it.
(26:42)
And this is where I agree with one of my colleagues. "We don't govern by temper tantrum," he said, "We'd be hurting millions of Americans and we'd be treating them as leverage." That was Chuck Schumer in 2018. Another colleague said, "This is irresponsible. No, it's reckless," my other colleague, Nancy Pelosi, but that was in 2013. A fellow colleague said, "It's not normal to hold 800,000 workers, or in this case over a million military members and their paychecks hostage." That was from AOC in 2019.
(27:19)
Team, we've heard about the firsthand impacts to individuals and it goes beyond just America, but what's happening right in our own districts as we look at this. Today, 15,000 national guardsmen from Iowa were in danger of not being able to decide whether to put a downpayment on a new car or being able to put food in the refrigerator. 2,000 of those members are right now deployed on the front lines in USCENTCOM in Iraq. And even more of their families are wondering, not only will they be safe, but will they be able to take care of their kiddos back home?
(27:58)
So, I called them up and I said, "Hey…" First Class Chase Holmes is a sergeant with our Iowa National Guard. He's currently preparing operations to be able to defend the country overseas, but because of the shutdown, critical joint training between his team and NATO was canceled. We spoke with an Iowa guardsman and chaplain for the 224th Combat Engineers Battalion, Caleb Wayne. He is leading part of the 1,800 guardsmen currently deployed to the Northern Part of Iraq right now. And he told me plainly, "We're working but we don't know if we'll get paid. I'll put my life on the line, but I hope someone's there to take care of my family if my paycheck doesn't come through." These aren't theoretical, these are real people, real impact, real cost.
(28:49)
Let's be blunt, the shutdown of the government has only one hostile actor, and there's a few individuals in the Senate who refuse to the country before the hostage of the 350 plus million Americans they've taken. It's unacceptable and that is why I'm grateful while President Trump is helping lead peace in the Middle East with the men and women who are on the front lines providing it, we have folks at home who need to do the same job and stand up for this country first.
(29:19)
Thank you to my colleagues. And most importantly, thank you to all our federal workers and God bless our troops. With that, I'm thrilled to introduce our leader, a man who's been on the front line of this himself, Mr. Scalise. Thank you, sire.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
Thank you, Zach, and thank all of my colleagues who you just heard from, many of whom served our nation bravely in our nation's military. I want to say thank you to the over 1 million men and women in uniform who continue to serve right now despite the uncertainty, that uncertainty that does not need to exist. And why? Because Chuck Schumer is more afraid of the radical leftists in his own party than he is concerned about making sure that those families don't have to wonder about whether or not they're going to be able to put food on the table. Their families, while they're overseas many of them, are going to be able to put food on the table during this Schumer shutdown.
(30:15)
And keep in mind, over one-third of all men and women who serve in uniform right now, over one-third of them live paycheck to paycheck. That means when Chuck Schumer is voting to deny them pay, many of them will not be able to make their rent payment or their mortgage payment. Many of them will not be able to make their car note payment. And the stress that that adds to their lives unnecessarily should not happen, did not need to happen. This House came together. I'm so proud of the men and women I serve with in Congress here in the House where we did our job weeks ago. We sent a bill over to the Senate. That doesn't resolve all of our differences. People often say, "Gee whiz. Why can't Washington just get together? Which side's going to win this thing?" It's not about which side wins. It's about stopping the American people from being the losers in Chuck Schumer's fight while we go negotiate our differences.
(31:15)
We have big differences we need to negotiate. And the clean CR that we passed over the Senate does not resolve those differences, it just gives us some more time to have that negotiation. And by the way, that clock is getting sooner every day. November 21st is not extending every day that Chuck Schumer continues this charade that he's playing with the lives of millions of American families. That date is going to get closer every day where we're not going to have as much time to negotiate our differences. And how big are those differences? Just look at the wish list, the hostage list that Chuck Schumer filed weeks ago, his demands that he said have to be met before he'll even open the government again. $1.5 trillion in new unrelated spending Chuck Schumer demanded, including, yes, eliminating all the verifications, so that illegals will get taxpayer-funded healthcare. That's in Chuck Schumer's bill. Chuck Schumer guts the $50 billion rural hospital fund to give taxpayer-funded health benefits to illegals in his hostage demands. That's not going to happen.
(32:25)
And so, when are we going to have a rational conversation? When are Democrats going to actually become serious in this discussion where they say, "Let's open up the government and start talking about our differences about how we're going to get this country back on track"? And in contrast again, just look at what happened yesterday. Some of us were at the White House at just an amazingly emotional ceremony where President Trump posthumously, unfortunately, issued the Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk and his incredibly brave widow, Erika, was there to receive it on his behalf and gave another emotionally-powerful speech.
(33:06)
And this comes on the heels of President Trump returning from the Middle East where he was in Israel, he was in Egypt, working with other world leaders to establish historic Middle East peace. President Trump's been doing all those things and in the middle of doing all of those things, he had to go find time to figure out creatively a way to pay our troops, even though Chuck Schumer wants to defund our troops. Yes, the party, the Democrats, that were for and continue to be for defunding our police, now want to defund our military troops by not paying them, by not opening up the government and the votes are clear.
(33:44)
Nobody has to wonder which side is for shutting down the government, which side is for trying to deny troops get paid. We had yet another vote the eighth time on the Senate floor yesterday. While we were at the White House, the Senate was having that vote on whether or not to open up the government. And you saw, Democrats continued, led by Chuck Schumer, to shut down the government and deny troop pay. It's embarrassing. It's not just unserious, it's having devastating consequences on millions of Americans around this country that doesn't need to happen.
(34:20)
We shouldn't have to wait until the Hate America Rally this weekend or whatever it is that's driving Chuck Schumer to keep this going on, this damage that's being inflicted so that he thinks it's going good for him. While it causes damage, real harm to millions of American families, including our servicemen and women, who are so bravely risking their lives for these great freedoms that we enjoy. We're going to continue to fight for freedom. We're going to continue fighting to open this government and do our jobs. And the whip of our conference is my friend, Tom Emmer.
Speaker 2 (34:58):
Thanks, Steve.
(35:01)
If Chuck Schumer and the Democrats had things their way, more than 1 million service members would not get paid today. Thankfully, our commander-in-chief stepped up where the Democrats have refused by reallocating funds to ensure our troops receive their hard-earned paychecks today. Thanks to President Trump, military families across the country will have the resources they need to continue making ends meet just a little bit longer. Yet, what has been the Democrat's response? Madeleine Dean told CNN yesterday, "This is not the way to run a government."
(35:44)
Making sure our troops get paid is not the way to run a government? You know what is actually not the way to run a government Representative Dean? Holding the American people hostage over your $1.5 trillion wish list of radical demands. Clearly, the Democrat Party of today is not your grandfather's Democrat Party. They care about one thing and one thing only, appeasing the radical, pro-terrorist wing of their party and they will inflict the maximum amount of pain on the American people to do it, but it doesn't have to be this way.
(36:26)
Republicans have a nonpartisan government funding bill ready in the Senate. We've been talking about it now for more than two weeks. It can be sent to President Trump's desk immediately. We could end the Democrats shutdown chaos today if they would do the right and reasonable thing by passing our clean CR. It contains zero partisan policy riders. No gimmicks. It's the same spending levels that Democrats supported just six months ago and that they passed 13 times previously under the Biden administration.
(37:02)
But nine times now, nine times the Democrats have refused shutting the government down in the process and forcing Americans to pay the bills. Also, they can gallivant around the Capitol making ridiculous videos, childish videos. Scream at Capitol police officers, who aren't getting paid by the way, and buy time until their Hate America Rally takes place on Saturday on the mall. It's despicable and it's wrong. We can only hope that they come to their senses and that madness ends soon. Until then, our message remains the same. Stop playing political games, pass our clean CR and reopen the government for the people you were elected to serve. Lisa McClain, our conference chair.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
Thank you. Well, good morning, everybody. Here we are again. I'm going to be very clear, Chuck Schumer wants a dirty deal. I'll say it again, chuck Schumer wants a dirty deal, one that caters to his radical base, the same crowd planning to protest at their I Hate America Rally this weekend. And what is in this so-called deal? Let's take a look at what's in Chuck Schumer's dirty deal. Let me spell it out. It adds $1.5 trillion to our national debt, $1.5 trillion. It hands out healthcare to illegal immigrants. That's not a talking point, that's a fact. It guts the most historic investment Congress has ever made in rural healthcare. Again, that's a fact. And it weakens healthcare for hardworking Americans. Begin to see the compare and contrast. Chuck Schumer and the Democrats want to protect illegals and hurt Americans. Republicans, we actually
Speaker 3 (39:00):
We want to do what we were elected to do, and that's take care of Americans. Yesterday, we released a new white paper on the facts, which are actually crystal clear. So we don't need to do political stunts and storm the speaker's office and… We just have the facts on our side. And notice when you can't feed us on the facts, you have to go to a motion, and you have to go to political stunts. And that's exactly what the Democrats are doing. First, the Democrats proposal eliminates a cornerstone investment in rural healthcare, putting hospitals and small-time clinics deeper in financial debt. That's a $50 billion cut to rural America. Second, states like California have played games with federal tax dollars to give benefits to, you guessed it, not Americans. That's right, illegals. Republicans actually closed that loophole, saving taxpayers $190 billion. Again, note the compare and contrast.
(40:04)
The Democrat Bill would reopen that loophole. And don't let them deny it. Make them own their votes. Make them own their stance. Let me remind you, every single Democrat on the 2020 presidential debate stage raised their hand and said taxpayers should pay for healthcare for illegals. Every single Democrat. So why are they denying it now? Because they know it's not popular with Americans, right? They are on the record wanting healthcare for illegals. Own it, Democrats. Say it loud. Say it proud. You want to put illegals over Americans. Just own it. I'm going to say it again. They are on the record wanting healthcare for illegals, and their dirty deal that they lay out in black and white.
(41:06)
Finally, Democrats' plan forces taxpayers to cover the majority of emergical medical costs for all non-citizens. Another 28 billion tab for who? You guessed it. The American people. So here's the bottom line. The Democrats proposal would force taxpayers to fund 119 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse. Yes, that's right. The Democrats advocate for waste, fraud and abuse. Why? Because it's not their money. It's your hard-earned money, including benefits for people that are here illegally. That weakens healthcare for Americans. It also defunds rural healthcare. Again, that weakens healthcare for who? That's right. It weakens healthcare for Americans. It is absolutely outrageous. So here's my message to Democrats. Tell all of your radical base, you're done taking orders. Tell them you're putting America first. Drop the demands, reopen the government, pass the house bill, and let's get back to work for the American people. Thank you.
Speaker 4 (42:34):
A judge in Florida issued a restraining order against Cory Mills for threatening harassing behavior from an ex-girlfriend. And according to these court documents, he also instructed a congressional staffer to reach out to her after that initial temporary restraining order was filed. Do you think this is an ethical violation? And do you think any disciplinary action is warranted?
Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (42:52):
I have not heard or looked into details of that. I've been a little busy. We have an House ethics committee. If it warrants that, I'm sure they'll look into that. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (43:03):
It's been reported for a while. Cory Mills was accused of beating a girlfriend in his D.C. apartment. He was accused of stolen valor by the people that he claimed to have saved on the battlefield that have been on the record saying that he did not save them. I mean, this has been happening since beginning of the year. Are you concerned about these allegations against Cory Mills?
Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (43:20):
Look, you have to ask Representative Mills about that. I mean, he's been a faithful colleague here. I know his work on the Hill. I mean, I don't know all the details of all the individual allegations and what he's doing in his outside life. You have to ask him about that. Let's talk about things that are really serious.
Speaker 6 (43:36):
Thanks, Mr. Speaker. OMB put out memos saying that they're going to batten down the hatches and ride out the shutdown, but, as you pointed out, they're going to pay the troops, as well as, they said, pay law enforcement. Should law enforcement include Capitol Police who protect you, your family, Mr. Scalise, the whip, as well as the Capitol building in general?
Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (44:00):
Yeah. We've always stood with Capitol Police and law enforcement, and we've shown that in word and deed. And I can tell you that I was with the president for a couple hours in the Oval Office last night. I spoke with Russ Vought in the Rose Garden before the Charlie Kirk service. They are…
(44:16)
What's the right word?
(44:17)
… forlorn about this. No one on the Republican side is taking any pleasure in this scenario. Yes, we're always for reducing the size and scope of the government and all of that, but this is not the way to go about it. We don't shut the government down, turn out the funding streams, and then require all these cuts like this. So what they're doing is they're having a triage federal spending, as you know, because anybody… As we've said, any person who's in the White House, regardless of party, and their director of OMB, is given this unfortunate, reluctant task. They have to figure out and triage, what are the most essential services, personnel policies, and what are not? They're going to look at that through a partisan lens.
(44:55)
But when they look through it through that lens… I mean, we're looking at it right now as conservative Republicans, the White House. That's who serves in the White House right now. If Joe Biden, or Kamala Harris, or a Democrat were there, they would look at it with a totally different set of lenses. But I can tell you that when we look at that, we prioritize troops and law enforcement. Absolutely. So if there is a mechanism to do that, they will find it, and they will fund it. The way they were able to get troops paid for this paycheck… And as I said, this is not an enduring solution because we will run out of the funds, but there were some unspent funds in effectively R&D accounts in defense. They moved that over to prioritize payment of those who were putting their lives on the line today, and you have families in serious situations.
(45:38)
That money will be replaced, as has been explained by the White House, after the funding gets going again. If we can find a similar mechanism to take care of Capitol Police, of course, they'll do that, but that's in a separate branch, so different determination.
(45:51)
Yes, sir.
Speaker 7 (45:51):
Mr. Speaker, this is day 15 of the shutdown now, and Leader Scalise just kind of addressed this, that the seven-week bill that you guys passed before, you guys have already lost two weeks of that. Is there a point in the future where you decide to put either another clean continuing resolution on the floor in the next couple of weeks? Or why not just put some of your appropriation bills that have passed out a committee on the floor during the shutdown?
Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (46:14):
Our appropriators have been hard at work. Even during the shutdown, they had… Remember, in the House, we passed all 12 separate appropriations bills through committee, three off the floors. There's nine left. They've been working to put those together and prepare them for action. And whether or not they're all collected here in D.C. or they're working individually at home as a group, we have lots of means communication right now. So the appropriators are working not just among colleagues in the chamber, but chamber to chamber. So it's a bipartisan discussion that's been going on. As I mentioned several days back, I even spoke myself with Patty Murray, who's the lead on approps in the Senate, Democrats side. So that work has been going on.
(46:57)
With regard to the timeline of the CR, it would do us no good to pass yet another CR out of the House because it will meet the same fate. Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats want to close the government down. They are gleeful about this. They are happy the troops are suffering all this pain apparently because they've just voted now, nine times collectively. Democrats in Congress, they voted nine times to block the pay of troops, and Capitol Police, and all the federal employees, and by extension, all the civilian contractors and everybody else. So we would just be going through an exercise in political futility to pass another CR.
(47:31)
It is ironic that the seven weeks, the seven weeks on the clean CR that we passed, September 19th was a date that was determined by Republicans and Democrats in the House. The appropriators determined together that that should be the length of the CR, and they stipulated together that it should be clean. The Democrats at the time said, please don't put any Republican priorities on that so that we can all do this in good faith, and we didn't. We put a clean CR. And still, they voted no. Why? Because their leadership, Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer told them they had to. So I think appropriators want to get back to work. I know every house Republican does, but we've got to get the lights turned back on. And Chuck Schumer and the Democrats to vote to do that so we can get back to regular legislative session.
Speaker 8 (48:16):
Last question.
Speaker 9 (48:18):
Thank you. Just to follow up, though, so the Senate is actually trying to advance some appropriations bills. Are you saying that if your appropriators get some bills ready for the floor, you'll bring them back, bring the chamber back, even if the CR isn't passed?
Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (48:32):
Leader Thune is trying to advance the defense approps bill today. We'll see how that turns out. My suspicion is the Democrats are going to play their same political games and stop that cold. I hope I'm surprised by that, but we'll see. We're on a 48 hour return notice for House Republicans and the House itself, and dependent upon action in the Senate, we can get all this moving again. And we can get back to all the regular order and all the things that are stacking up on our plates. It is ironic that even though Democrats decided upon the end date, the seven weeks to go to November 21, it is the Democrat leadership that is eating up the clock. And they are doing great harm to the American people, not just by suspending services, vital services and paychecks, but also because of the backlog of work that the Congress has to get done. And we cannot do it while hard-working Americans are suffering because of these antics, and that's why we're demanding, insisting that they get it open.
(49:29)
I'll leave you with this. You've heard the word contrast here a number of times today, so grateful for these Main Street caucus leaders who came in and help us articulate this contrast. I'll just say this again. You have two parties on a split screen right now. You have President Trump and the Republican party reducing your taxes, cutting taxes, cutting government red tape and regulations to get the economy going again, passing historic legislation to boost the economy and bring down the cost of living. You have Republicans who have ended the border crisis; almost zero illegal crossings in the last four months. You have Republicans who are working to end the crime crisis and support law enforcement and ICE officers, and all those who are wearing that badge and putting their lives on the line, and supporting our troops, as we talked about today. You have Republicans who are ending fraud, waste, and abuse in government and making government work more efficiently and effectively for the people, and you have President Trump and the White House and his administration ending conflicts that are killing millions of people around the world.
(50:23)
What have Democrats accomplished in the last nine months? A government shutdown. I mean, the contrast between these parties could not be any more stark. And I encourage you to watch, we call it the Hate America rally that'll happen Saturday. Let's see who shows up for that. I bet you see pro Hamas supporters. I bet you see ANTIFA types. I bet you'll see the Marxist in full display, the people who don't want to stand and defend the foundational truths of this republic. And we do, and that's what we're here doing every single day. And we'll continue to come in morning and tell the American people the plain and simple facts because the facts are going to win the day here. The American people are not stupid. They see what's going on, and they know who's to blame. Thanks for being here [inaudible 00:51:04].
Speaker 3 (51:03):
Thank you.