OAN Staff Blake Wolf
3:14 PM – Sunday, October 13, 2025
GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested that the government shutdown may become the longest in U.S. history — unless Senate Democrats finally agree to pass a “clean, no-strings-attached” Republican spending bill to reopen the government.
Johnson (R-La.) spoke to reporters on Monday as the shutdown entered its 13th day. The standoff continues, with Democrats insisting on negotiating certain healthcare provisions, while Republicans maintain that such discussions will only occur after the government is fully funded.
“We’re barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history, unless Democrats drop their partisan demands and pass a clean, no-strings-attached budget to reopen the government and pay our federal workers,” Johnson stated.
The longest U.S. federal government shutdown lasted 35 days, from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019. It primarily resulted from a dispute over funding for the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
“Republicans are eager to return to the actual negotiating table to finish out full-year appropriations and do work on all the other matters before us, but we won’t negotiate in smoke-filled back rooms, and we won’t negotiate as hostages,” Johnson continued.
Advertisement“You can poll individual House Republicans, maybe you should, and 98.7 percent of them will tell you that this is the right thing” Johnson added, emphasizing near-unanimous support among House Republicans for his approach or decision.
“I don’t know what the Democrats are doing, but the House Republicans have been very busy. They’re doing some of their best work in the district, helping their constituents navigate this crisis that’s been created by Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and the Democrats. The Schumer shutdown it causes real pain for real people, veterans, and the elderly people who rely upon these services.”
The dispute is specifically over the Democrats’ insistence on extending the expiring Obamacare subsidies, characterizing the highly contested issue as a “boondoggle.”
“The Covid-era Obamacare subsidy that they’re all talking about that’s supposedly the issue of the day doesn’t expire until the end of December. And by the way, it is the Democrats who created that subsidy, who put the expiration date on it,” Johnson stated.
“They put an end date on it because they knew it was supposed to be related to Covid, and it’s become a boondoggle,” he continued. “When you subsidize the health care system and you pay insurance companies more, the prices increase.”
“If indeed the subsidy is going to be continued, it needs real reform. But there’s a lot of ideas on the table to do that.”
Meanwhile, the Senate is expected to once again vote on a temporary spending bill on Tuesday, representing the eighth attempt to pass a continuing resolution as the showdown nears its third week.
Despite the imminent vote, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) indicated that the bill will most likely fail once again, stating: “I think Leader Schumer’s checked out.”
“I don’t think this is going to happen. I think this is going to happen organically with enough reasonable Senate Democrats who care enough about doing the right thing for their country and not what’s in the best interests of their left-wing political base to come forward and help us find a solution,” Thune added.
Democrat Senate Majority Leader Schumer recently stated that “every day gets better” for his party while the government shutdown continues, suggesting that Americans will solely blame the GOP for the shutdown — which some argue could impact the upcoming midterm elections.
“We Democrats want to end this shutdown as quickly as we can,” Schumer stated. “But Donald Trump and Republicans need to negotiate with us in a serious way to fix the health care premiums crisis. We can and should do both. It’s not either or, like Republicans think.”
Johnson’s comment follows after President Donald Trump redirected Pentagon funds initially allocated for research and development to ensure military service members receive pay that would have otherwise been delayed by the shutdown.
The Pentagon was reportedly able to redirect $8 billion, according to a Politico report, citing the White House Office of Management and Budget.
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