House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday said that the government will remain open ahead of the March 14 shutdown deadline, stating that Republicans will act responsibly to ensure it stays funded.
House Republicans were acting in “good faith” to avoid a shutdown, Johnson said on NBC’s Meet the Press,
“The government funding is always bipartisan. You have to have partners on both sides to do it,” Johnson said. “We need our Democratic colleagues to be reasonable about that. They want to use government funding as a weapon against President Trump and his administration, and that is not the way this is supposed to work.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries countered that Democrats had not been approached about a funding deal and accused Republicans of abandoning negotiations.
“House Democrats are committed to funding the government in a manner that promotes the economic well-being, health and safety of everyday Americans,” Jeffries said. “The top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, Rosa DeLauro, remains ready, willing and able to talk with our Republican colleagues, but there has been zero outreach from the Trump administration and House Republicans have walked away from the negotiating table.”
Jeffries also emphasized that Democratic support would hinge on protecting entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
“As the recent budget resolution vote made clear, there will be no support for partisan legislation that fails to protect the quality of life of the American people,” he said. “Unfortunately, it appears that Republicans, who control the House, the Senate and the presidency, are once again determined to shut the government down and hurt everyday Americans.”
Johnson, however, insisted that cuts to entitlement programs were not on the table.
“There is not one mention of Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security,” he said. “It’s not in the bill because we haven’t set the policy. We’re trying to get America back on sound fiscal ground.”
That said, Johnson said the Department of Government Efficiency has found fraud and waste in these programs that the Republicans want to eliminate.
