Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) is accusing House Speaker Mike Johnson (R) of continuing the government shutdown to protect President Donald Trump, claiming that the President is “Jeffery Epstein’s best friend in the White House.”
“Speaker Mike Johnson has shut the house down, because he is doing the bidding of Jeffrey Epstein's best friend in the White House,” Wasserman Schultz wrote on social media.
She further argued that ignoring rising health costs will lead to people not being able to afford healthcare.
The Congresswoman criticized Johnson and the Republican Party, calling them "callous" as she expressed her frustration with the GOP for allegedly refusing to negotiate terms to lower healthcare costs and fund the government.
“[Speaker Johnson] is callously preventing us from being able to sit down at the negotiating table and work together to find a resolution to the end-of-year fiscal budget, which must include canceling the cuts, lowering health care costs, and saving Americans' health care alongside funding the government,” she concluded.
For over a month, both Democrats and the Republicans have blamed each other for the shutdown, with Republicans claiming that Democratic demands are too much and that the Biden-era funding should be sufficient for 2026. Democrats, on the other hand, cite rising healthcare costs as the X factor for the push to increase healthcare funding.
However, favor seems to have shifted in the Republican Party’s favor as CNN news anchor Jake Tapper clashed with New Mexico Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D) over the shutdown and imminent concerns with SNAP funds.
Tapper asked Stansbury why she wasn't pushing Senate Democrats to open the government if she was so concerned about Americans losing food assistance.
Stansbury replied that the administration is the one withholding funds.
Tapper pushed back, commenting that “this is also a choice by Senate Democrats to not vote to open the government.”
Stansbury simply replied, “no, it is not.”
