FIRST ON FOX: Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is putting pressure on House Democrats hours before a critical vote on a bill to avert a partial government shutdown before the end of this week.
The clip, which runs just under two minutes, is a supercut of top Democratic lawmakers emphasizing that their party does not support government shutdowns nor the office closures and mass furloughs that come with them.
“House Democrats have long warned about the consequences of a government shutdown,” the text on the screen begins.
The message is immediately followed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., stating during a press conference, “We believe in governance. We want to keep government open. A shutdown is very serious.”
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“It is not normal to hold 800,000 workers’ paychecks hostage. It is not normal to shut down the government when we don’t get what we want,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., says on the House floor in another clip.
The video ends with white text on a black screen that reads, “What’s changed? Now Democrats want to shut down the government to try to stop President Trump.”
“Democrats have railed against government shutdowns. But now they’re supporting one,” Johnson told Fox News Digital in a written statement. “They’re willing to do anything to stop President Trump from implementing his agenda.”
It’s a marked escalation in the war of words between Democrats and Republicans over a plan President Donald Trump and GOP leaders are pushing to avert a partial shutdown.
The 99-page bill released by House GOP leaders over the weekend would keep the government funded through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2025, on Sept. 30.
It would do so by extending FY 2024 government funding levels, which Republican leaders have celebrated as a victory in that it roughly keeps federal spending levels for another year, rather than the expected increases that come with the annual full-year congressional appropriations bills.
The bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), is expected to get a House-wide vote on Tuesday afternoon.
Democrats have strongly condemned the bill after not receiving assurances from Republicans that it would include constraints on Trump’s authority, particularly related to government spending.
“The partisan House Republican funding bill recklessly cuts healthcare, nutritional assistance, and $23 billion in veterans benefits,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a joint statement with other Democratic leaders. “Equally troublesome, the legislation does nothing to protect Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid, while exposing the American people to further pain throughout this fiscal year. We are voting No.”
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House GOP leadership aides said over the weekend that the bill included an additional $6 billion for veterans healthcare, and Republicans have pushed back on accusations that the bill touches Medicare and Medicaid – mandatory government programs that cannot significantly be cut into in the congressional appropriations process.
But passing the bill with little to no Democratic support will be an uphill battle for Republican leaders. At least half a dozen Republicans are undecided about or opposed to the bill as of Tuesday morning.
But GOP leaders were confident it would pass throughout Monday. “We’re going to plan to move it tomorrow,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said on Monday night.
