Johnson defends Trump's push to cut jobs amid shutdown

“When Congress turns out the lights,” instead of passing a bill to fund government, U.S. presidents have the authority to unilaterally make moves to reduce government functions and eliminate jobs, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Friday morning.

It falls on the executive branch to find ways for government to still operate — no matter which party controls the White House — and that some “triage” is required, Johnson said at a news conference. It just so happens, Johnson added, that the current president is a Republican and “he’s a limited government conservative.”

What responsibility does he bear, as Speaker of the House, for the shutdown? Johnson reiterated that the GOP-controlled House has passed a bill to fund agencies. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats, he said, gave Trump the opportunity to scale back government by blocking that House-passed funding bill in the Senate.