House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sparred with ABC host George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday over the GOP’s refusal to negotiate with Democrats and avoid a government shutdown.
The federal government shut down on Wednesday after Congress failed to reach a spending agreement to keep the government funded. Democratic lawmakers united against the GOP’s spending bill due to a lack of funding for health care subsidies that are expiring for millions of Americans.
President Donald Trump and his GOP allies have blamed Democrats for the shutdown despite Republicans holding majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives. Stephanopoulos pressed Johnson on why he is against funding health care subsidies during an interview on Wednesday.
“The Democrats’ proposal is designed to prevent millions of Americans from losing their health insurance, losing Medicaid coverage, or paying higher health care premiums. Why are you against that?” Stephanopoulos asked Johnson during ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
“That’s an absurd statement,” Johnson responded.
“It’s a factual statement," Stephanopolous said.
The Republicans have falsely claimed Democrats want to give health care to those living illegally in the United States with their proposal. Johnson repeated that false claim on Wednesday, accusing Senate Democrats of rejecting a “clean, nonpartisan continuing funding resolution to keep the United States government open.”
“The Democrats said instead that they wanted to give healthcare to illegal aliens instead of keeping critical services provided for the American citizens. That’s what happened, plain and simple,” Johnson said. “Every Democrat in the House, except one, voted against the clean continued resolution. It was nonpartisan in nature.”
“It’s exactly what Chuck Schumer and other Democrats voted for in March. But they’ve changed their tune. They changed their tune because Chuck Schumer is having political problems right now. That’s just a simple fact, and everybody knows that he’s trying to outrun the far left portion of his base, so he’s decided to inflict pain on the American people,” Johnson added.
Stephanopoulos then delivered a fact check of Johnson’s claims.
“Here are the facts. The proposal does not provide health care for illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants cannot buy health care under the Affordable Care Act. They cannot receive health care subsidies. Illegal immigrants are ineligible for Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Program. The Democratic bill does not make them eligible,” Stephanopoulos said.
The Democrats picked this fight, which was unusual for the party that prefers to keep government running, but their voters are eager to challenge the president’s second-term agenda. Democrats are demanding funding for health care subsidies that are expiring for millions of people under the Affordable Care Act, spiking the costs of insurance premiums nationwide.
Republicans have refused to negotiate and have encouraged Trump to steer clear of any talks. After the White House meeting, the president posted a cartoonish fake video mocking the Democratic leadership that was widely viewed as unserious and racist.
Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday said Republicans want to resolve the health care issues that concern Democrats but will not negotiate until the government reopens.
Until then, he stressed, people and federal workers will be affected in a variety of ways, and, as examples, he cited people on federal food assistance programs, potential flight delays for air travelers and service members not getting paid while they report for duty.
“It’s craziness, and people are going to suffer because of this,” Vance said on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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