U.S. Congressman August Pfluger, joined by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), appeared on the Republican Study Committee's (RSC) "Right to the Point" podcast to discuss the ongoing Government standoff and its toll on American families.
Pfluer, who serves as chairman of the RSC, led the conversation, calling out Democrats for "using struggling American families as leverage," while pushing for $1,5 trillion in new spending and taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants.
"It's really sad that we're here," Pfluger admitted. "We've all known that Democrats have undertones of anti-family policy, and Republicans are standing firmly for families, who are standing firmly to protect what our greatest asset is."
The Republican leaders painted a picture of the Democrats' priorities as 42 million Americans prepare to lose SNAP benefits on November 1st, and thousands of federal employees face financial strain.
Despite the growing crisis, Democrats have voted 13 times against reopening the government, according to the lawmakers.
Speaker Johnson accused Democrats of "playing games" with the livelihoods of millions, accusing them of holding the government hostage for partisan demands.
"Everybody knows from civics that you have to have sixty votes in the Senate. We only have fifty-three Republicans," Johnson informed. "So it is the Democrats who have now voted thirteen times to close the government."
He went on to accuse Democrats of using Americans as "ransom," describing how they have placed an ultimatum. To get paychecks back to federal workers, they are "demanding $1.5 trillion in new spending."
Scalise echoed Johnson's frustration.
"While Democrats are talking openly now that they know they're causing suffering to families, they don't care because they want to exert leverage, leverage for what they can't even articulate," said Scalise. "They're scared to death of their social Marxists, the most extreme element of their party. They're doing this shutdown because they're afraid of their own voters."
