‘I don’t have any strategy’: Speaker Johnson still backs GOP’s clean CR as shutdown drags into 3rd week

(WASHINGTON) — Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed the possibility he could change his strategy to end the government shutdown by negotiating legislative changes with Democrats, telling reporters on Tuesday that he doesn’t “have any strategy” to end the impasse in place of the GOP’s lackluster pressure campaign to pass a “clean” continuing resolution.

Johnson on Tuesday pushed Democrats to support the House-passed funding bill and slammed the Democrats’ $1.5 trillion proposal, which extends health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act and reverses cuts to Medicaid.

Asked whether he may consider a different negotiation track as the pressure campaign against Democrats has so far failed to break the standoff, Johnson reiterated that the House-passed bill is a “clean” continuing resolution — free from legislative gimmicks or political games.

“Why don’t I change my strategy? I don’t have any strategy,” the speaker told reporters. “I’m doing the right thing, the clearly obvious thing, the traditional thing.”

The Senate is set to vote Tuesday night — its eighth time — on the GOP-backed “clean” continuing resolution that would fund the government. It’s expected to fail again as the shutdown enters its third workweek.

Congressional Democrats representing Maryland and Virginia — where a significant number of federal workers reside — criticized Republicans over the shutdown on Tuesday morning and supported the workers.

“What we have seen happen to our federal employees we will continues to speak out against,” Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a Maryland Democrat, said. “We want them to know we appreciate them, we appreciate your service to our country, we still need you, we still need what you offer our country and we will continue to work until you can be able to offer it.”

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said President Donald Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought are “viscously” attacking federal employees.

OMB is working on ways to get paychecks to federal law-enforcement officers amid the ongoing shutdown, according to an OMB official. This comes after recent moves to pay members of the military and fund the critical Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children program.

Trump said he’s directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to use “all available funds” to pay members of the military on Wednesday, Oct. 15 despite the shutdown.

The Pentagon said Tuesday that it will use $8 billion found in research, development and testing funds to cover paychecks for the troops on Wednesday.

The move won the approval of Speaker Johnson.

“Look, my understanding of this is they have every right to move the funds around, duly appropriated dollars from Congress to the Department of Defense,” Johnson said Tuesday. “If the Democrats want to go to court and challenge troops being paid, bring it. OK?”

OMB said on its X account on Tuesday that the Trump administration is “making every preparation” to ride out the government shutdown without caving to Democrats’ demands. The agency said they’d continue cutting the federal workforce in the meantime.

“Pay the troops, pay law enforcement, continue the RIFs, and wait,” the post said.

Lawmakers are still in a stalemate with negotiations at a standstill.

“We’re barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history,” Johnson said on Monday.

The record is 35 days and that was set in Trump’s first term.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said during an MSNBC interview Monday that he does not believe the American people will allow the federal government shutdown to proceed much longer because they’ll pressure Republicans to negotiate with Democrats.

Jeffries said Republicans remain unwilling to negotiate over health care as the shutdown continues.

because they’d rather keep the government shut down than deal with the cost-of-living crisis that exists in the United States of America,” Jeffries said.

Isabella Murray contributed to this report.