The White House reacted to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) new stopgap funding bill Saturday, calling it “extreme.”
“This proposal is just a recipe for more Republican chaos and more shutdowns—full stop,” a statement from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre read. “With just days left before an Extreme Republican Shutdown—and after shutting down Congress for three weeks after they ousted their own leader—House Republicans are wasting precious time with an unserious proposal that has been panned by members of both parties.”
“An Extreme Republican Shutdown would put critical national security and domestic priorities at risk, including by forcing service members to work without pay,” Jean-Pierre continued. “This comes just days after House Republicans were forced to pull two of their own extreme appropriations bills from the floor—further deepening their dysfunction.”
Most Americans, including Republicans, do not want a shutdown, but the democratic mechanisms aren’t functioning. There is absolutely a systemic problem with the incentives of a two party system in the US, in conjunction with a primary system where the diehards are much more likely to vote. It rewards extremism.
That said, it is also true that the Republican party is by far worse than Democrats. In fact, one explains the other. I am not claiming the parties are equivalent, so it is just uncharitable to accuse me of false equivalency.
But it is really just 8 extreme republicans. 8 people shutting down everything. It’s up to republicans in the house of representatives to boot these guys, even if it means siding with the dems. It’s not partisanship. It’s loyalty to 8 people.