Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said Thursday that Democrats bear the blame for the pain of a government shutdown, as President Donald Trump and his budget chief moved forward with identifying federal programs to cut.
“This is the way the system works. This is [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer’s decision, is to hand … the keys to the kingdom to the president,” Johnson, R-La., told reporters. “He has put himself in that situation, and it’s completely unnecessary. The president takes no pleasure in this.”
The government entered its second day of a partial shutdown after Senate Democrats refused to provide the votes necessary to advance a seven-week stopgap funding bill. Without the measure, agencies have begun contingency plans, delaying payments and preparing to reduce operations, The Daily Signal reported.
Johnson’s remarks came hours after Trump posted on Truth Social that he would meet with Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought, calling him “he of PROJECT 2025 Fame,” to discuss which federal agencies and programs should face cuts.
“I have a meeting today with Russ Vought … to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent,” Trump wrote.
“I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity. They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he added.
Under Vought’s direction, the administration has already frozen billions of dollars in funding for New York City subway infrastructure projects. Federal agencies are carrying out shutdown protocols that include delaying payments to employees and reviewing spending priorities against White House policy.
Johnson said Vought is performing a necessary job.
“As you know, whomever is seated in the chair at OMB during the shutdown has to do the same thing,” Johnson said. “We had a 45-minute telephone conference with [Vought] yesterday. He talked to all the House Republicans. He takes no pleasure in this … because Russ has to sit down and decide, because he’s in charge of that office, which policies, personnel and which programs are essential, and which are not. That is not a fun task, and he is not enjoying that responsibility.”
“Now, when he sits down as the director of OMB, he will obviously have a subjective determination on the priorities,” Johnson said. “And what do you think he would do? Because what would any OMB director do under any president? They’re going to look to see for the administration’s priorities first and ensure that those are funded.”
Johnson argued that Democrats could end the shutdown immediately if they supported the stopgap measure.
“It could end today if the Senate Democrats would come to their senses and do the right thing for the American people,” he said. “But if they don’t, and if they keep the government closed, it’s going to get more and more painful, because the resources run out, and more and more things have to be reduced and eliminated.”