Democrats have kept the government shut down for over three weeks – the longest full government shutdown in U.S. history.

Speaker Johnson and Republicans did their job. On September 19, they passed a clean, nonpartisan continuing resolution to keep the government funded, ensuring that troops and federal workers are paid and that essential nutritional assistance programs for women, children, and infants are funded.

Meanwhile, Democrats have voted over a dozen times against troop pay and funding for nutritional services yet demand over $1.5 trillion in new wasteful spending. Democrats even had an opportunity to support a standalone bill to pay essential federal workers – and they voted it down. Democrats know their shutdown inflicts unnecessary pain on the American people, but Democrat leaders like Katherine Clark see their shutdown as "leverage."

At the most recent House Republican Leadership Press Conference, Speaker Johnson discussed the strain of the Democrat Shutdown on air safety and air traffic controllers. Speaker Johnson said, "These men and women have one of the most stressful jobs in America. They cannot be 99.5% accurate, or 99.9% accurate. They have to be a hundred percent accurate, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And now they're being forced to work longer hours, take on multiple jobs, and maintain the same level of excellence again, all while Democrats hold their paychecks hostage."

IN THE MEDIA

As the Democratic government shutdown continues, Speaker Johnson has appeared on dozens of TV and radio shows and hosted numerous press conferences at the U.S. Capitol to discuss the harmful impacts of the shutdown and urge Senate Democrats to vote to reopen the government. Click the images below to watch Speaker Johnson's remarks. Check out Speaker Johnson's YouTube channel for all interviews and press conferences.