Speaker Mike Johnson continued to hit Senate Democrats on Wednesday for blocking a government funding stopgap — this time by highlighting the shutdown fallout in their states.
During a press conference Wednesday, Johnson showcased a series of headlines from across the country.
“Remember Georgia’s two Democrat senators, [Raphael] Warnock and [Jon] Ossoff, have now voted five times to keep the government closed down,” Johnson said, telling the story of families in the Peach State worried about access to food banks. “I suspect they may continue, and they’re hurting real people in the state of Georgia.”
He moved on to New Hampshire Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan.
“Let me point out that both senators … have repeatedly voted to keep to keep government closed and New Hampshire’s national park sites closed by extension,” Johnson said.
Johnson also noted the fallout to air traffic controllers and flights safety across the country as aviation sector employees continue to toil in high-pressure jobs without certainty of when they’ll receive their next paychecks.
Later Wednesday morning, the Senate will hold a sixth vote on dueling stopgap funding bills that are both expected to fail as both parties remain dug in and formal negotiations to end the stalemate remain nonexistent. Privately, Republicans admit they were perhaps too confident that Democrats would quickly fold and now the shutdown continues with no end in sight.
