NCS Host Grills Mike Johnson Over Shutdown: ‘I Reject The Premise Of The Question’

The “Inside Politics” host first requested Johnson if he would settle for “a partial government funding deal” to reopen the Department of Agriculture to “alleviate the pain” of individuals whose meals advantages are set to expire Saturday. He rejected the provide as a political stunt.

“Well, there are a handful of moderate centrist Democrats left in the U.S. Senate, and they are in panic mode right now because they recognize that their votes have been the reason that all this pain and hardship is being experienced by the American people,” said Johnson.

The Republican added, “They have voted now 14 times to impose this hardship and pain. They’re doing it for political purposes. As I’ve explained … they’re worried about the radical left base that is rising, the Democrat Party and some of the leading politicians there.”

Johnson argued that House and Senate Minority Leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have solely stayed within the battle out of concern of future challenges from extra progressive politicians, naming New York City mayoral race front-runner Zohran Mamdani.

“So here’s the answer,” he informed Bash. “We cannot deviate from the number one job and responsibility of the U.S. Congress, and that is to keep the government in operation for the people. And the simplest way to fix this is to reopen the government, not just parts of it.”

“So they can alleviate a little bit of the pain that they themselves are causing,” he continued in his partisan blaming of Democratic management. “Let’s alleviate all the pain and get that done. They have no logical argument why they would not do that.”

Bash famous that whereas these will expire Saturday and are set to have an effect on greater than 20 million households, Trump’s administration has found a way to cover military pay amid the shutdown, and requested Johnson why he’s “drawing the line” at hungry Americans.

“Wait a minute, wait,” he protested. “I reject the premise of the question. I’m not drawing the line. The Democrats are drawing the line. If we had a contingency fund that we could use, that would be done. The White House … the executive branch, all the cabinet secretaries are doing everything they can to mitigate and reduce the pain.”

The MAGA Republican argued that contingency funds for meals advantages can’t be used as a result of Congress didn’t authorize this forward of the shutdown. Bash pushed again, noting Democrats say that “that’s not what the law shows” — which Johnson stated was “ridiculous.”