Washington: U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson sharply dismissed calls for bipartisan compromise on the ongoing government shutdown, asserting Wednesday that Republicans have “nothing to negotiate.” Speaking to reporters in Washington, Johnson placed the onus squarely on Senate Democrats, accusing them of repeatedly blocking a House-passed funding measure and exacerbating hardships for the American public.
“Don’t ask the Republicans what we should be doing or what we should be negotiating. I don’t have anything to negotiate,” Johnson said. He criticized 44 Senate Democrats for voting three times against what he described as a “completely nonpartisan, completely clean, very simple, 24-page continuing resolution” approved by the House two weeks ago.
Johnson also defended President Donald Trump’s authority to manage federal operations during the shutdown. He argued that the Constitution grants the president the power to terminate federal employees and withhold allocated funds in response to a funding lapse. According to Johnson, Democrats in the Senate, by allowing the government to shut down, have effectively ceded decision-making power to the executive branch.
“When Congress turns off the funding and the funding runs out, it is up to the commander-in-chief, the president of the United States, to determine how those resources will be spent. He has that responsibility given to him by the Democrats in the Senate,” Johnson said, framing the shutdown as a transfer of authority from legislative to executive control.
Observers note that Johnson’s remarks signal a continued hardline posture from House Republicans, suggesting little movement toward negotiation in the near term. With the federal government already in its second day of closure, hundreds of thousands of employees remain furloughed, and key services across the nation continue to face disruption.
As the standoff persists, the question remains whether either side will yield ground or if the shutdown will extend further, intensifying economic and social strains on the American public.