Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is not playing these games. It’s not a typical smackdown, but it was a gentlemanly bayou beatdown when he explained what the Democrats want to reopen the government. Spoiler alert: they want a lot of woke nonsense, on top of the $1.5 trillion for illegal alien health care.
Johnson noted that Democrats want millions for global warming nonsense, grants for LGBT stuff in the Balkans, and while not chucking a couple of million for feminist pet projects in Africa. Those are just three items, but part of a $5 billion boondoggle.
OMG — @SpeakerJohnson blows the cover on the Democratic agenda.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 14, 2025
For Dems to reopen the gov they want "$24.6M for climate resilience in Honduras...$3.9M for LGBTQI+ democracy grants in the Balkans...& $2M for feminist democratic principles in Africa."
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The price tag really isn’t the issue; it’s that these are poison pills that Democrats know Republicans won’t sign off on. It’s meant to keep the government closed. Republicans have a seven-week, clean continuing resolution with zero GOP initiatives so that Congress has time to hash out the final details on 12 appropriations bills, including getting something done on expiring health care subsidies in December. It’s at Biden-era spending levels and includes everything Democrats supported before. Democrats own the shutdown. They think they can win this fight, but can’t. And they’ve shown multiple times they’re unwilling to reopen the government until likely after this weekend, when the No Kings rally ends.
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