Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., on Monday blamed Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown, pushing back on claims by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries that Republicans are responsible for the funding impasse.
Speaking on Newsmax's "Bianca Across the Nation," Johnson called Democrat messaging around the shutdown "galling" and accused party leaders of mischaracterizing the situation without sufficient scrutiny from the mainstream media.
"It's galling to listen to Democrats spew those lies, those mischaracterizations," Johnson said. He argued that "most legacy media" outlets are aligned with Democrats and fail to hold them accountable.
Johnson contended that Republicans would face far harsher criticism if they were in a similar position.
"If the tables were turned and it was Republicans that were holding up DHS funding, we would be excoriated in the mainstream media," he said, adding that Republicans "would have caved within hours."
The senator maintained that Republicans have supported funding measures through the legislative process, particularly in the Senate, and said Democrats are responsible for prolonging the standoff.
He described the situation as "unconscionable," pointing to the impact on federal workers, including Transportation Security Administration agents.
"These TSA agents, God bless the ones that are still on the job, so many Americans are working paycheck to paycheck. They can't afford this," Johnson said.
He also linked the dispute to broader partisan divisions over Senate rules, particularly the filibuster. He argued that Democrat policies and positions have contributed to the current gridlock, while criticizing what he described as inconsistency on the filibuster.
"When they had the chance, they only had two of their members who voted against ending the filibuster, they've been purged from the party," Johnson said.
He acknowledged divisions within the Republican conference on whether Democrats would ultimately move to eliminate the filibuster if given the opportunity.
Johnson said some Republicans believe Democrats would act to end it, while others remain skeptical.
As a potential step forward, Johnson said he supports holding a vote on a rule change requiring a 67-vote threshold to alter filibuster rules, arguing it would force Democrats to go on record about their position.
Despite that proposal, Johnson suggested the Senate's dysfunction runs deeper.
"The Senate is so broken," he said, adding that eliminating the filibuster altogether "wouldn't be the end of the world."
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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