In a recent edition of “Comment from the Capitol,” Congressman Steve Womack of Arkansas’s 3rd District hosted Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to discuss the ongoing government shutdown. The discussion focused on the reasons behind the shutdown, the actions taken by House Republicans, and what steps might come next.
Speaker Johnson addressed several questions during the segment. On why Republicans are not negotiating with Democrats, he stated: “Well, because we don’t really have much to negotiate. As you know, we sent over a clean, very simple, very small, 24-page continuing resolution to keep the government open. Why? So that leaders like you [Womack] can continue the appropriations process. […] We didn’t load our CR up with partisan priorities or poison pills or gimmicks. So, I don’t therefore have anything to bring to the table and say, ‘Oh gee guys, we’ll pull back these Republican priorities. Would you vote for it now?’ They’re voting to extend what you and I lament: Biden era policies and spending that they’ve already supported 13 times during the Biden administration, and now they’re playing politics with it.”
On whether former President Trump supports a government shutdown, Johnson said: “No one’s taken any pleasure in this. I can tell you the President does not want the government to be shut down. He said that to Chuck Schumer himself in the Oval Office five days ago when we were all sitting there together. He pleaded with him not to do this, and Chuck Schumer effectively said, ‘Oh yeah, well I’m going to do it anyway.’”
When asked why the House is not in session during the shutdown, Johnson explained: “First is that the House quite literally did our work. We passed that CR to keep the government open over two weeks ago, and now we need the Senate to do theirs. […] But the other is that when they decided to turn the lights off at the government, it really does affect the legislative branch as well, and there’s not much really we can do until Chuck Schumer reopens the government, and I want maximum pressure to be applied for that because it’s the right thing for the people.”
Johnson also discussed why there were no previous shutdowns during Biden’s presidency: “We didn’t have a shutdown in the previous four years of the Biden administration. Why? Because you and I and Republicans, even when we were in the minority, we voted ultimately to keep the government open because we didn’t want to hurt American citizens because of political games. Democrats are doing the opposite.”
Regarding whether President Trump could reduce federal workforce numbers during a shutdown, Johnson commented: “Whomever is President in a scenario like this has an unenviable task because they’ve got to sit down—when the spigots are turned off effectively and the funds stop flowing— they’ve got to sit down and determine what are essential versus non-essential services. They have to make the same determinations with policy and personnel, and those are tough, tough choices. […] And the irony is that it is Chuck Schumer and the Blue State Democrats that put the President in that position.”
Finally, Johnson emphasized regular order in congressional appropriations: “The reason you do a budget and then you do this appropriations process, and you do all the hard work is because it’s the only way to be a good steward of precious resources of taxpayers. And when everything is crammed to end of year…it’s part of reason…the country finds itself in this $37 trillion plus debt hole.”
Congressman Womack produces “Comment from Capitol” as an audio segment during weeks when Congress is in session; its purpose is to provide updates on legislative activity directly from Washington.
Steve Womack has represented Arkansas’s 3rd District since 2011 after succeeding John Boozman (https://womack.house.gov/). Born in Russellville in 1957 and currently residing in Rogers at age 66, Womack graduated from Arkansas Tech University with a BA degree in 1979.
