WEBVTT - House Speaker Mike Johnson Talks Government Shutdown 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:07.040 Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:10.120 Joining us now, as we promised, live from Capitol Hill 0:00:10.200 --> 0:00:13.920 is the US Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. Welcome 0:00:13.920 --> 0:00:16.319 back to Bloomberg TV and Radio, mister Speaker. But looking 0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:19.279 forward to the conversation, and I appreciate your time this evening. 0:00:19.360 --> 0:00:21.080 I'm sure you're having a ball and you don't want 0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:23.400 this to end anytime soon. But I'm just wondering what 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:25.160 your gut check is here and how long you think 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:25.960 this is going to go on. 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:30.240 This is a very frustrating exercise for us. It's no 0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:33.199 fun at all, Joe. And that's because real Americans are 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:36.240 feeling real harm because of this. It's political games being 0:00:36.240 --> 0:00:39.000 played by Democrats in the Senate. There is one reason, 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:41.960 and one reason alone, that they've all just magically changed 0:00:41.960 --> 0:00:43.800 their tune. I mean, they've done one hundred to eighty 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:47.240 degree turn. And what they have always said and done 0:00:47.680 --> 0:00:50.680 emphatically in keeping the government open. They said as recently 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:52.960 as March of this year. We're playing the highlight reel 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:55.640 tape outside the Speaker's office right now. They all said, 0:00:55.640 --> 0:00:57.560 in their own words, you can't shut the government down. 0:00:57.600 --> 0:01:01.360 It's too painful. Something change. What changed was the political calculation. 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:04.679 Chuck Shermer is worried about, as was just said, an 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:07.880 attack or a challenge from his left flank. He's afraid 0:01:08.120 --> 0:01:10.160 that the Marxist wave in New York is going to 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:12.479 take him over as well, because he represents that state, 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:14.880 and so he's got to pick a fight with Trump 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:17.479 and show that he's fighting. Well, they picked a fight 0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:20.320 that has nothing to do with stop gut funding. They're 0:01:20.360 --> 0:01:23.640 talking about the Obamacare subsidies, for example. That's a December 0:01:23.680 --> 0:01:26.759 thirty one policy issue. We were always going to negotiate 0:01:26.800 --> 0:01:30.240 that and debate it and deliberate over it in October November. 0:01:30.280 --> 0:01:32.440 That always has been on the schedule and they know that. 0:01:32.480 --> 0:01:34.280 But they're trying to pretend that's the issue of the day. 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:34.640 It's not. 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:37.520 It's a red herring. It's a distraction. They're not doing 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:39.160 their jobs and real Americans are getting hurt. 0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:42.479 Well, we spoke just a few moments ago with Congresswoman 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:45.759 Catherine Clark who said, we just want to gesture, mister speaker, 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:50.040 would you consider a promise to bring that negotiated legislation 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:51.960 to a floor vote up or down. We'll make sure 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:53.560 that happens before the end of the year. 0:01:54.480 --> 0:01:56.440 Well, the Speaker of the House is in no position 0:01:56.520 --> 0:01:59.080 to project forward what the outcome of a big policy 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:02.080 debate is going to be. That'd be unprecedented for anyone 0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:03.600 to do that, and I won't. 0:02:03.800 --> 0:02:05.160 What we have told them. 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:08.560 Is the obvious fact that there are ongoing negotiations and 0:02:08.560 --> 0:02:12.440 discussions going on today between Republicans and Democrats, and certainly 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:15.520 within our own caucuses about how some of that would 0:02:15.560 --> 0:02:18.040 need to be reformed. Look, there's a lot of conservatives 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:21.359 who have real problems with the Obamacare subsidy. Okay, when 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:24.720 the government subsidizes something, it means it's not working. It's 0:02:24.760 --> 0:02:26.799 like the ev mandates. You know, people didn't want to 0:02:26.800 --> 0:02:29.040 buy electric vehicles. The government said we'll give you seventy 0:02:29.040 --> 0:02:30.839 five hundred dollars cash if you do, and they still 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:34.040 didn't buy enough of them. Right, when the government subsidizes something, 0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:36.519 it means the market's not working. Obamacare was supposed to 0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:39.760 bring down the cost of health care. Premiums of skyrocketed 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:41.399 since it was created in two thousand and ten. They're 0:02:41.440 --> 0:02:44.119 up like sixty percent, So something's not working. There's real 0:02:44.200 --> 0:02:47.000 reforms that are needed, but it's a complex issue that 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:49.360 takes a lot of time for members on both sides 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:51.799 of the island, in both chambers to negotiate. They're trying 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:54.000 to search short circuit all that. Right now, that's not 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:57.360 how this process works. The clean cr is so simple, 0:02:57.520 --> 0:03:00.640 Joe is twenty four pages in length. It has exactly 0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:02.960 zero Republican policy writers on it. 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:05.120 We made it so simple. We just said, do what 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:05.760 you've always done. 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:08.480 Let's keep the lights on and keep the appropriations and 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:11.519 the negotiation process going. They refuse to do it because 0:03:11.600 --> 0:03:14.200 again they want to show a fight because they can't 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:15.120 stand President Trump. 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:15.840 That's what this is. 0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:18.800 And in the meantime, American people are being used as 0:03:18.880 --> 0:03:22.200 pawns in this game, and it is so frustrating to us. 0:03:22.360 --> 0:03:24.359 I think it's shameful. I think it's immoral for them 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:25.440 to do what they're doing right now. 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:28.760 Well, I know your position on that, and you we 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:31.160 hear about the Schumer shut down a lot around here. 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:33.600 Tom Emmer was with us just a couple of days 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:35.360 ago making the point that we've heard this over the 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:38.840 past couple of weeks, but what happens if Chuck Schumer 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:42.160 doesn't come around for you? What happens if weeks go by. 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:44.760 If members of the military are not being paid, are 0:03:44.760 --> 0:03:47.640 there off ramps here for you? Mister Speaker, Will you 0:03:47.680 --> 0:03:50.200 start reaching out directly to Democrats? Do we need another 0:03:50.240 --> 0:03:51.560 meeting in the Oval office. 0:03:52.280 --> 0:03:55.240 Look, I am a good faith operator. I am a negotiator. 0:03:55.280 --> 0:03:58.200 I like to find common ground. Here's the problem, because 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:00.520 we were operating in good faith and doing the most 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:03.440 basic simple thing, I mean, the bare minimum piece of 0:04:03.480 --> 0:04:06.320 legislation to keep the lights on. I literally don't have 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:08.560 anything to negotiate on the CR. I can't go into 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:11.040 that document then say, oh, let me pull off these 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:12.960 Republican priorities and see if we can get some more 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:13.520 Democrats to. 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:15.280 Vote on it. I don't have anything to pull off 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:15.560 of it. 0:04:15.600 --> 0:04:19.039 I sent over a clean continued resolution, and by the way, 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:23.480 very important. It continues Biden era policies and spending, which 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:26.120 we conservatives don't like. We're trying to change that, but 0:04:26.160 --> 0:04:28.599 we need the appropriations process to finish it. All we 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:30.680 needed was seven more weeks on the clock to finish 0:04:30.680 --> 0:04:34.240 the process. And the Republicans and Democrats who are appropriators 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:37.080 are the ones that decided that date and decided it 0:04:37.080 --> 0:04:40.360 should be clean. And everything was going smoothly until Chuck 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:42.599 Schimmer decided to blow it up. Is he going to fold? 0:04:42.640 --> 0:04:44.359 I don't know, but I'll tell you what needs to happen. 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:47.080 Some other Senate Democrats need to come to their senses 0:04:47.120 --> 0:04:50.000 and realize they should not be blamed for the pain 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:52.080 that's being inflicted on the people. Make it stop as 0:04:52.080 --> 0:04:54.240 soon as possible, do the right thing and join your 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:56.200 Republican colleagues and open the government back up. 0:04:57.000 --> 0:04:58.800 That's why I ask if you're reaching out to some 0:04:58.839 --> 0:05:01.360 of the Democratic senators, mister speaker, have you talked to 0:05:01.440 --> 0:05:03.320 Chuck Schumer since your Oval Office meeting? 0:05:05.160 --> 0:05:06.880 No? Not since the Oval Office meeting. But I'll tell 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:07.120 you what. 0:05:07.160 --> 0:05:09.400 The President made an impassioned plea while we were there 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:12.159 to please not do this, Please don't shut the government down, Chuck, 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:15.799 and he was spurned, and Chuck Schumer and HACKEM. Jeffreys 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:18.520 walked out defiantly. You know they wanted to pick this fight. 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:21.280 It's very clear. The question everybody's asking is how long 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:25.160 October fifteenth troops begin to lose a real paycheck, and 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:27.479 you've got TSA agents and Border patrol agents and all 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:30.680 these people sacrificing their own safety. To protect everyone else, 0:05:30.720 --> 0:05:33.479 and they won't be paid. You've got nutrition programs and 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:36.680 health services and femous services and all sorts of other 0:05:36.760 --> 0:05:40.839 things stalled, and half the civilian workforce of the federal 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:44.320 government is now furloughed. This is dangerous stuff. Real people 0:05:44.320 --> 0:05:47.440 are being hurt. Air traffic controllers are falling back on 0:05:47.480 --> 0:05:49.680 the job because they don't have enough personnel. It's a 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:53.200 serious stuff, and we need the Democrats to come to 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:54.360 their senses and do the right thing. 0:05:55.440 --> 0:05:56.479 Well, of course there's. 0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:58.479 A thread of mass layoffs coming from the president. He 0:05:58.520 --> 0:06:00.680 said maybe four or five days he would make a 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:02.719 decision on that. But there's also been a conversation and 0:06:02.720 --> 0:06:05.440 I heard you speaking earlier in your briefing about back 0:06:05.520 --> 0:06:08.320 pay for federal workers who have been furloughed. There's, of 0:06:08.360 --> 0:06:10.920 course a law on the books around furloughed workers getting 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:14.520 back bay today, and I know that you have been 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:16.679 speaking to the letter of a law. The President yesterday 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:19.839 yesterday said though that there are some federal workers who 0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:22.760 do not deserve the quote was to be taken care of. 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:26.719 Is this issue the purview of Congress? Do you plan 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:29.400 to follow this law or is this somehow up to 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:30.240 russ vote. Now. 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:35.119 Well, look, there's different legal analyzes that are floating around 0:06:35.160 --> 0:06:36.600 right now, and I've been so busy with this i 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:37.839 haven't had a chance to dig into it. 0:06:37.880 --> 0:06:38.520 I am a lawyer. 0:06:38.640 --> 0:06:40.680 I'm looking forward to reading through that because I kind 0:06:40.680 --> 0:06:42.640 of get into all the scholarship side of this. It 0:06:42.680 --> 0:06:45.280 has always been my understanding that the law requires furloughed 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:47.760 workers to receive back pay, and of course that's been 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:50.200 the tradition. And I'm not sure exactly what the President 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:52.120 is referring to there there. I haven't had a chance 0:06:52.120 --> 0:06:54.760 to talk to him about that specific issue yet, but 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:57.120 we will. I can tell you this though, the view 0:06:57.120 --> 0:06:59.240 of the White House, the view of the President himself, 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:01.440 is that he doesn't want federal workers to be used 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:02.039 as ponds. 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:02.280 Here. 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:04.919 We've got some great patriotic Americans who work for our 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:08.159 agencies and provide essential services to the people. They should 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:10.680 not suffer the harms of people who want to pay 0:07:10.680 --> 0:07:13.360 political games. And I think this really important principle for 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:14.080 us to advance. 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:18.280 Do you worry about mass layoffs coming as early as 0:07:18.320 --> 0:07:21.280 next week and that actually poisoning the well even more 0:07:21.840 --> 0:07:24.840 between Republicans and Democrats? What would be the impact of a. 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:27.440 Move like that, well, look, I'm worried about all sorts 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:30.120 of adverse effects because of how it affects the American people. 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:33.240 We had some analysis today that every week that the 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:37.080 Democrats shut down continues, we could lose fifteen billion dollars 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:39.600 in gross domestic product. I mean, it's a real hit 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:42.240 for real people, and it has a reverberating effect. And 0:07:42.280 --> 0:07:45.240 if you keep it closed for a month, then one 0:07:45.240 --> 0:07:47.160 of the estimates I saw today is you lose forty 0:07:47.200 --> 0:07:50.200 three thousand civilian employees. You know, because it has a 0:07:50.280 --> 0:07:52.920 ripple effect throughout the economy. We can't afford to do that. 0:07:53.000 --> 0:07:53.400 Right now. 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:55.840 Things were going in the right direction and this is 0:07:56.240 --> 0:07:59.280 a terrible setback for the country. It also has implications 0:07:59.320 --> 0:08:01.440 for national secure I mean, you look at things like 0:08:01.520 --> 0:08:05.520 nuclear deterrence. Those programs are stalled right now, right and 0:08:05.600 --> 0:08:08.680 every day you do that, it has real world consequences 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:10.680 for us. Not a game, and we need to end 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:11.320 it right now. 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:15.600 I know that you've said it to House Republicans at 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:17.920 least reportedly, that you would give them forty eight hours 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:19.680 notice if they had to come back into town. When 0:08:20.240 --> 0:08:23.960 folks left following the vote on the CR in the House, 0:08:24.560 --> 0:08:26.800 if they're talking next door in the Senate, if some 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:30.000 sort of deal is broker that might alter the CR 0:08:30.120 --> 0:08:32.000 as it stands. Now, do you plan to call your 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:32.600 members back? 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:36.079 Look, the devil's in the details, but I don't know 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:38.360 how they could possibly alter it. We made it so 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:40.920 simple there Again, there is nothing to take off of that. 0:08:41.280 --> 0:08:45.200 It is virtually identical to what Chuck Schumer himself championed 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:47.720 in March of this year. And so we're not going 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:50.800 to strap on extraneous policy issues and all of that. 0:08:50.800 --> 0:08:52.679 That would take a long time. Because the government's now 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:55.360 closed down, they need to pass the clean CR, turn 0:08:55.400 --> 0:08:57.360 the lights back on, and get everybody back to work. 0:08:57.720 --> 0:09:00.680 I'm just so frustrated with the nonsense around this, and 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:02.600 I think more and more people at Homer as well. 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:04.360 I saw a rass must and poll that came out 0:09:04.400 --> 0:09:07.200 a couple of hours ago. Forty nine percent of the 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:10.200 American people were polled. So that Democrats did this to 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:11.800 give benefits to illegal aliens. 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:12.560 They are not wrong. 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:15.840 Two hundred billion dollars in their counter proposal would pay 0:09:15.920 --> 0:09:21.240 illegal aliens the benefits that hard earned, hardworking American taxpayers provide. 0:09:21.240 --> 0:09:21.960 We're not doing that. 0:09:22.200 --> 0:09:23.920 We're not going to add a trillion and a half 0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:28.600 new dollars to spending. We're not taking Chuck Schumer's ridiculous counterproposal. 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:30.240 We're going to do the right thing for the people, 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:32.080 and the Republicans are on the job to do it. 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:34.640 I know you had a couple of visitors at your 0:09:34.640 --> 0:09:37.400 office today, mister Speaker, a couple of Democratic Senators. I 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:40.160 believe Kelly and Diego had a lot of things to 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:43.280 say about the swearing in of a new member of 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:46.360 Congress from Arizona. I also saw Congress with Mike Lawler 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:50.439 from New York get into an altercation with HAKEM. Jefferies 0:09:50.440 --> 0:09:52.720 as he was coming out of his office here. I 0:09:52.800 --> 0:09:57.080 know that elbows can be sharp on Capitol Hill, But 0:09:57.120 --> 0:09:59.160 mister Speaker, what's happened to decorum? 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:01.360 Is this a new law? Oh? 0:10:01.480 --> 0:10:03.640 Look, I work on decorum around here all the time. 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:05.840 Everybody knows that's my record. I started it when I 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:08.600 came to Washington in January twenty seventeen. I authored the 0:10:09.040 --> 0:10:12.480 Honor and Civility Caucus Pledge and the Commitment to Civility. 0:10:12.480 --> 0:10:14.640 I mean, we have to maintain this. 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:17.760 There fights about policy, but it shouldn't be personal. I 0:10:17.800 --> 0:10:20.760 try to model that myself. I try to encourage colleagues 0:10:20.800 --> 0:10:22.439 to do it. But I would tell you the tension 0:10:22.440 --> 0:10:25.160 here is very high because it's high because the stakes 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:28.199 are so high, and you get real Americans, real constituents 0:10:28.400 --> 0:10:30.760 back home who are really suffering because of the nonsense, 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:34.520 and it gets as upset here sometimes, you know, I 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:36.760 understand that emotion. We've got to keep it in check. 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:38.520 We've got to get everybody working together, and we've got to. 0:10:38.480 --> 0:10:39.240 Get the lights back on. 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:42.720 I want to ask you about that new member Grihalva, 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:46.480 the congress woman elects from Arizona. The senators were asking 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:48.600 you to swear her in, or I guess they were 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:50.880 urging you to swear her in, which I know you've 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:54.000 done a couple of times for Republican members in pro 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:57.080 forma sessions. These two senators were yelling about Jeffrey Epstein, 0:10:57.480 --> 0:10:59.160 I think to make a point here, and they did 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:02.040 get some on that. Mister speaker, Is this an Epsteine 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:03.800 issue or is this a process issue? 0:11:04.400 --> 0:11:06.600 They're master's at distraction. To go back and watch the 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:09.840 video of Senator Reuben Gego. These are the two Democrat 0:11:10.040 --> 0:11:13.080 senators from Arizona, Mark Kelly and Gayego, and they're voting 0:11:13.160 --> 0:11:14.760 to keep the government closed. I told them, if you 0:11:14.800 --> 0:11:17.959 want to get your House colleague from your state, take 0:11:18.000 --> 0:11:19.679 the oath of office, then open the government so we 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:23.440 get back to regular session. They claim everything's about Epstein. 0:11:23.760 --> 0:11:27.600 It's a joke, master's a distraction. We did. This is 0:11:27.800 --> 0:11:31.320 a long standing tradition in the Congress when you administer 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:34.160 the oath after a special election, you do it the 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:36.600 first time that the Congress is back in session. After that, 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:40.520 we did change that modify it earlier this year. On 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:43.120 one occasion, we had two Floridians who came in on 0:11:43.120 --> 0:11:45.640 the same special election, but it was a very different 0:11:45.640 --> 0:11:48.480 set of circumstances. I explained to them very quickly. We 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:51.360 had a scheduled date for the oath office ceremony. The 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:53.880 House went out of session unexpectedly. They already had their 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:56.400 family and friends here and it was already pre arranged. 0:11:56.520 --> 0:11:58.040 So we just went ahead and went through the motion. 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:01.800 We're going to recollect Grihalba. We'll be sworn in as 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:04.000 soon as we get back to regular session. She never 0:12:04.040 --> 0:12:06.400 had a scheduled date because you got elected after the 0:12:06.440 --> 0:12:08.640 House went out of session. This is real simple. We're 0:12:08.679 --> 0:12:09.960 going to do that as soon as we get back. 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:12.480 But they are in charge of turning the lights on 0:12:12.559 --> 0:12:13.760 so Congress can get back to work. 0:12:14.679 --> 0:12:17.640 Well, I appreciate your answering that for us, mister Speaker. Lastly, 0:12:17.679 --> 0:12:20.400 if you were to join me, say next Wednesday, would 0:12:20.440 --> 0:12:22.760 we be having the same conversation about a shutdown. 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:26.160 I am on my knees praying that we would not be. 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:28.520 We have got to get the government operated again. It's 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:31.080 the most basic function of the federal government is to 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:34.120 serve the people, keep the people safe, and keep the 0:12:34.160 --> 0:12:36.320 lights on. And we need the Democrats that we're here 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:37.240 to see the light and do that. 0:12:38.800 --> 0:12:41.640 We appreciate the conversation. House Speaker, Mike Johnson, thank you. 0:12:41.840 --> 0:12:43.920 You're always welcome on Bloomberg TV and radio.