Speaker Johnson on Day Nine of Democrat Government Shutdown: While Schumer Celebrates the Shutdown, U.S. Troops and Their Families Fear Missed Paychecks

WASHINGTON - On Day Nine of the Democrat Government Shutdown, Speaker Johnson held a press conference alongside House GOP Leadership and Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost to discuss Chuck Schumer celebrating U.S. troops not receiving their paychecks due to the Democrat Government Shutdown.

"Chuck Schumer did an interview last night and bragged, this is what he had the audacity to say, 'Every day of this shutdown gets better for us.' For his party," Speaker Johnson said. "I don't even know how to comment on that. It's so stunning to me how callous he can be, to play political games and use American citizens as pawns in a political game."

Watch Speaker Johnson's full remarks here.

On Chuck Schumer celebrating the pain of the government shutdown:

And I just want to tell you one of the most outrageous things I've seen since I've been following politics, in the mid-eighties when I was a kid in the Reagan era. Chuck Schumer did an interview last night and bragged, this is what he had the audacity to say, "every day of this shutdown gets better for us." For his party. I don't even know how to comment on that. It's so stunning to me how callous he can be to play political games and use American citizens as the pawns in a political game. We're in day nine. The consequences of this Democrat shutdown are very real, and he can mock it, and he can pretend like it gets better for him, but it doesn't. It doesn't get better for the country. Right now, half our civilian federal employees are on furlough. Real vital, critical services that American citizens in all categories rely upon are halted. And when we talk specifically about our military right now, service members, military personnel at home and abroad, as well as border patrol agents, TSA air traffic controllers, they're all working without pay.

I was on C-SPAN this morning on that program they do in the morning where American citizens call in. They have a Republican line, Democrat line, and an Independent line. One of the callers called in and she was so upset. She's a young military mother. She has two special needs children as she told her story in tears. She's so angry and so am I, that their services are being delayed. I mentioned here at this podium last few days, I have a big military district in Louisiana, the Fourth District. We have Fort Polk and Barksdale Air Force Base, lots of airmen, lots of soldiers, many are deployed right now defending your freedom around the world. And they've left the young families at home. They live paycheck to paycheck, many of these service members. And this is not a game. Chuck Schumer thinks it is. He says, "Every day of the shutdown gets better for us." What the heck is he talking about?

On the stark contrast between Congressional Republicans and Democrats:

Americans are watching a remarkable split screen. Two things happening simultaneously, and there's a rather stunning contrast between the two on one screen, you see President Trump and Republicans delivering for the American people. You see, President Trump and Republicans cutting taxes for hardworking American families. You see us ending the border crisis, ending the crime crisis. You see us eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse in government, and now resolving violent conflicts around the world.

What President Trump achieved yesterday was announced last night, is a truly historic foreign policy achievement. I mean, it cannot be understated. We should give a whole press conference just about that. The deal that he struck between Israel and Hamas will achieve incredible results, not just for that region, but for every peace-loving people around the world. Everyone around the world, he's going to return, bring the hostages home, two years they've been in captivity, they'll finally be delivered home. We're all watching the images of the celebrations in Israel and around the world by people in Gaza and in Israel, that this is coming to an end. He's going to bring the hostages home. He's going to bring peace and security back to Israel and truly lay the foundation for a lasting peace in the Middle East. This is a goal and an objective that's been stated by presidents and politicians and policy makers and people around the globe for generations.

And President Trump has the strength and the vision and the resolve to do it. He's the only President who could have, as has been demonstrated, and look at the other side of the screen. So that's all going on on one side of the split screen. Now look at the other, the stark contrast with the Democrats who have shut down the government. Republicans are busy working around the clock to deliver for the American people, voting over and over to open the US government and laying the foundation for lasting peace and working to deliver for American troops and military families. And what do you see on the other screen? Democrats playing games at the lives and livelihoods of the people we represent. They have now voted in the Senate six times to keep the government shut down.

On Democrats pulling publicity stunts instead of voting to reopen the government:

It's political theater to them. They've reduced Americans pain to a political prop. I'll just say this briefly; I'm going to let the other leaders speak here. But just a few things that you've seen while we're doing all this work. We're working around the clock to deliver on all these things I've just listed. Democrats are playing games. They film themselves wandering the Capitol, beating on doors, posting flyers, and pretending to look for their colleagues. They hosted a livestream. Oh, it was so embarrassing. The House Democrats, they hosted this livestream where they ate candy and told terrible jokes to each other. They had an audience smaller than this room. The leader of the Democrat party is bragging about the cost that is borne by the American people. And just yesterday, I had two Democrat Senators come over and stage a failed publicity stunt outside of my office.

I heard about it, walked out, and confronted them and set them right on the truth. They came to this side of the Capitol to try to put on a little political show for their online audience, and then they walked right back over there and voted for the sixth time to keep the government shut down. Give me a break. Democrats seem to be doing everything except the one thing that Americans desperately need and deserve. And that's passing our clean CR to get the government operating again. That's all we're asking. Stop the political stunts. Stop the madness. Stop saying that you're enjoying inflicting pain on the American people for goodness sakes. And pass the clean CR and end the shutdown today.