SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN: Johnson blasts Dems' 'CRAZY' demands

Here with us exclusively is Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. Mr. Speaker, what really ticked you off about what was handed to you this morning? Well, a lot did, and I've made that public. You know, it's the process and it's the substance of what we were sent. Let's make this very clear. House Republicans will have no part in reopening the border and stopping illegal immigration enforcement. And that's exactly what this piece of legislation attempts to do. It quite literally, on its face, brings to the dollar amount zero any funding for border security. Look, Chad said it right. It was the big issue in the 2024 election. 78 million Americans voted for President Donald J. Trump and the Republican Party to come in and seal that border, secure that border, and deport dangerous, criminal, illegal aliens. We have done that. The Democrats hate it, Brian. That's the whole thing here. They want the border reopened and they want to protect dangerous, criminal, illegal aliens over American citizens. We can have no part of that. I'm not trying to roll the Senate. I would just I would just correct what Chad said there just in one way. We're not trying to roll the Senate. We're trying to do the obvious, common sense, moral thing, and that is keep the government funded for two more months so we can sort out the differences between the parties. Mr. Speaker, the mindset of the Republicans, as I understand it, is, OK, fund everything. Those two things you don't want to fund. We're not going to give you any of the reforms you wanted, which is true, but we're going to find it. There's enough in the big, beautiful bill to fund both those things, pass an appropriations bill in a month or two, and you're caught up again. That's the Republican mindset from the Senate. Is that what's wrong with that mindset? Well, the problem is that what they're doing is they're placing the burden on the Republican Party entirely to make sure that we have border security funding and immigration and customs enforcement because they're going to try to force it into a reconciliation bill. That's a very difficult task. It is a high-risk gamble for us to assume that we could do that. And in the meantime, people are still going unpaid in this. We've got to make sure that we take care of those who take care of ourselves. The Democrats have always been about defunding the police, and that's what they're doing. Customs and Border Patrol, just by one example, that they're not funding here. It's the largest law enforcement agency in America. They keep the borders safe. They protect us from bio-threats and terrorists, all sorts of things. They're being unfunded and they're being mistreated. I'll say this, the president, President Trump, with his great leadership, has stood up to make sure TSA agents are paid immediately. We'll take care of the lines at the airports, but we've got to do the right thing, and we have to have border security and immigration enforcement. It's essential. So your plan now is what? What's the House going to do? Well, in a matter of a couple of hours, a little after 10 p.m. tonight, we will pass the Clean Continuing Resolution. Very important, Brian. No partisan gimmicks or tricks here. We didn't add things to it. Just a clean continuation of funding for Department of Homeland Security, 10 agencies beneath it, all those agencies keep Americans safe, to make sure we can stay on track. And in those eight weeks, we will figure this out with Democrats and figure out a couple of reforms or whatever they need to make sure that we do this right. But we are going to protect the homeland. We have to. It's the most important, most basic function of Congress, and Democrats don't want to do that. All right. So you're going to look to pass that simple majority. Have you talked to Hakeem Jeffries? Is he on board with that, or do I have to even ask that question? Well, I would assume, I certainly hope that some Democrats come along with us tonight. I'm assuming that they will vote no because, again, they advocate for open borders and they don't want enforcement. They would keep those departments completely unfunded, and that's what they've demonstrated by their actions and their antics in the Congress. Their actions speak for themselves. The upcoming election, Brian, is a contrast for America between common sense and crazy. And the Democrats give us new exhibits and illustrations every single day of how crazy their policies are and, frankly, how dangerous. Mr. Speaker, so give us the mechanics of it. So you guys would pass this with a majority, a CR for 60 days, then you hand it over to the Senate. What does the Senate do with that, and when do they look at it? I heard they left town. Well, a lot of them did leave town, but what will happen is they go back into session. There's a pro forma session on Monday morning, as Chad was explaining, and anybody can make a U.C. unanimous consent request, and Leader Thune, they will do that. I talked with him today. And they will hope that it can be passed. If no one objects, then it automatically happens. They don't even have to fly back in town to do that. We take care of the homeland. We take care of those who are serving and sacrificially serving our country. And we do the right thing. And then the parties can haggle over the next few weeks about the details of what remains in homeland security. We pray and hope that they'll do that, Brian. There's so much at stake here. Yeah. Excuse my inevity. I'm not like like Chad and like you, like an encyclopedia with this. But so you bring it over to the Senate and you'll say, you know, I need one person to accept it. But if a Democrat shows up and says, I don't accept it, we're back to we're back to ground zero. Right. We are. And that hot potato is in the lap of the Senate again because Democrats are being obstructionist. I mean, that's clearly what's at stake here. And we cannot allow them to pick and choose which federal employees they favor and which they disfavor. And that's what they're trying to do. They're trying to break out this appropriations and prevent the basic law enforcement function of these two critical agencies that keep everybody safe. So Chuck Schumer, who's fighting for his political life, says this. We've been clear from day one. Democrats will not give a blank check to Trump's lawless and deadly immigration militia. I assume he means ICE. I don't know why he's getting away with language like this without reforms. A 60 day CR that locks in the status quo is dead on arrival in the Senate. The Republicans know it. This is the nonsense that has made Chuck Schumer, politically speaking, a dead leader walking. OK. I mean, that's the that's the reason he's in jeopardy. They have the lowest public approval rating in the history of polling. They're negative 55 percent with voters overall. And among independent voters, Democrats in Congress are negative 60 percent approval rating. It's because they they are trying to do things that go against public opinion. Everybody understands the necessity of border security. And these Democrats want that border open wide again. That's what they did for four years under Biden and Harris. And that's what they would do again. That's what their bill that they that they sent to us last night literally does. I want everybody to Google it. Look at page two, the section four, when it explains in layman's terms what's in the bill. It literally says we will give zero dollars to Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We can't do that. Right. And I think it's important. You already spoke to President Trump, I know. But I think people should know at home that TSA agents are getting paid, but the people in the back offices, support staff are not getting paid and they're not. And they're not getting paid again because they didn't get paid in the fall and they had nothing to do with this. No one's going to want to work for the government, Mr. Speaker, because you're not making a million dollars. But you had security. Now you don't even have a security. That's a serious problem. This is the second longest shutdown in U.S. history that they have just foisted upon us. Second only to the longest shutdown, which Chuck Schumer and the Democrats put upon us last fall. For half of the fiscal year so far, DHS employees and particularly ICE and CBP, they haven't had a paycheck. TSA agents, they haven't had a paycheck for half the fiscal year. Who would do that? They're patriotic Americans. We have to treat them as such. And House Republicans are on the job to do that. From my point of view, Mr. Speaker, the Democrats lost an election in 2024. And they instead of trying to fight to win back people with great ideas, they decide to try to stop your majorities in the House and Senate and the president. And that's what it seems to be. I don't know what their agenda is except to stop yours. And that's kind of sad for the country. I appreciate your time tonight. You easily could have blown us off, but instead you explained your side of the story. I think it's important. We appreciate it. We'll be right back with the next one.