‘Democrats should do the right thing,’ Speaker Johnson says

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday blasted Democrats for holding out against passing a stopgap funding bill that would avoid a shutdown of the U.S. government at the end of the day.

“They “need to come to their senses here, and do the right thing,” Johnson, R-La., said during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

He said that top Democrats — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — have “painted themselves into a corner” by making policy demands in exchange for passing a funding bill Tuesday.

Those demands, Johnson said, are irrelevant to the urgent need to pass that continuing resolution.

Democrats are insisting that any continuing resolution to keep the government funded in the near-term include an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits.

Those credits, which lower the cost of health insurance premiums paid by millions of Americans who buy coverage on ACA exchanges, are due to expire at the end of 2025.

“We are ready and willing and able to find a bipartisan way forward,” Jeffries said during a later interview on “Squawk Box.”

But he said Democrats are unwilling to support a bill that does not include health-care protections.

“We will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people,” Jeffries said.

He said that on Wednesday, “notices are going to start going out” to tens of millions of Americans about higher insurance premiums that they will pay if the ACA subsidies are extended.

“We are fighting to deal with the health care of the American people,” Jeffries said.

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