Democrats bash Johnson for rejecting Senate DHS bill, urge support for discharge petition |
Democrats bash Johnson for rejecting Senate DHS bill, urge support for discharge petition
House Democratic leaders teed off on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Friday for rejecting a bipartisan Senate bill to reopen most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), saying GOP leaders are voluntarily prolonging the partial shutdown to appease their most conservative wing.
“The American people know Republican priorities have nothing to do with making their life better, and everything to do with jamming their extreme and radical right-wing ideology down the throats of the American people,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said during a press briefing in the Capitol.
“And Exhibit A today is the fact that House Republicans are rejecting a bipartisan bill supported by 53 Republican senators that would end the chaos at the airports, pay TSA, and stop inconveniencing millions of Americans.”
Behind Jeffries, the Democrats called on Johnson to stage an immediate vote on the Senate bill, which passed unanimously in the upper chamber early Friday morning, saying it’s the surest way to end a partial shutdown that ranks among the longest in history.
“Republicans cannot continue to hold funding for airport security, disaster assistance and response for the Coast Guard........