House Speaker Mike Johnson revealed on Tuesday that Democrats are demanding billions in wasteful and ideological spending, including $3.9 million for LGBTQI+ democracy grants in the Western Balkans, as part of their conditions to reopen the government.
Speaking on the 14th day of what he called the Democrat government shutdown, Johnson said the American people are suffering because Democrats have chosen politics over responsibility.
“Welcome to day 14 of the Democrat government shutdown,” Johnson said during his press briefing. “It’s two weeks of Democrats in Congress inflicting untold pain on the American people for nothing other than pure politics.”
Johnson explained that House Republicans had already offered a clean continuing resolution to keep the government funded, but Democrats repeatedly rejected it.
Instead, he said, Democrats are tying unrelated left-wing priorities to essential government operations in an attempt to strong-arm Republicans into approving radical spending measures.
He accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of catering to what he described as the party’s “Marxist base.”
The Speaker laid out details from the Democrats’ counterproposal, calling it a $1.5 trillion wish list of reckless spending that would send taxpayer money to liberal causes and foreign projects that have nothing to do with running the U.S. government.
Among the examples he cited were $24.6 million for climate resilience programs in Honduras.
Another $13.4 million would go to civic engagement programs in Zimbabwe.
An additional $2.9 million is earmarked for desert locust risk reduction in the Horn of Africa.
The Democrats’ plan also calls for $2 million to fund “organizing for feminist democratic principles” in Africa, according to Johnson.
Johnson highlighted the $3.9 million in LGBTQI+ democracy grants for the Western Balkans as an example of Democrats’ misplaced priorities.
“They want to spend 3.9 million of your hard-earned dollars for LGBTQI+ democracy grants in the Western Balkans,” Johnson said. “We are not doing that.”
He argued that Democrats are also trying to undo common-sense reforms enacted by Republicans that prevent illegal immigrants from accessing taxpayer-funded healthcare.
“This is a fact,” he said. “They would add illegal aliens and non-citizens back to taxpayer-funded benefits. It would cost taxpayers nearly $200 billion.”
Johnson further warned that Democrats want to roll back modest work requirements placed on able-bodied young men without dependents.
At the same time, Democrats are pushing to make COVID-era Obamacare subsidies permanent, with no income limits or meaningful reforms.
Johnson said this approach would not only punish working Americans but also reward dependency and mismanagement.
The Speaker accused Democrats of prioritizing ideological projects over the immediate needs of the American people.
He said their proposal exposes how out of touch the party has become, highlighting spending for causes abroad while Americans face uncertainty at home.
“This is not about keeping the lights on,” Johnson said. “This is about Democrats trying to use the shutdown as leverage to fund their far-left agenda.”
Johnson reminded reporters that Republicans have already passed legislation to reopen the government responsibly, without any of the unrelated political riders Democrats insist on including.
The Republican plan, he said, would maintain government operations, protect taxpayers, and prevent wasteful spending abroad.
Johnson also pointed out that the Democrats’ proposal would restore funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, sending a half-billion dollars to what he described as liberal media outlets that have long benefited from taxpayer subsidies.
He described it as another example of Democrats using government funding to reward their political allies rather than serving the public good.
“These are not the priorities of the American people,” Johnson said firmly. “They are the priorities of a radical political class that has forgotten who they work for.”
The Speaker ended his remarks by calling on Democrats to stop the political games and join Republicans in reopening the government immediately.
“We have a clean bill ready to go,” he said. “It keeps the government open, pays our troops, secures the border, and protects hardworking taxpayers. Democrats need to stop holding America hostage.”
Johnson’s comments reflect growing frustration among House Republicans who say Democrats are using the shutdown to push through spending on social experiments, foreign projects, and activist groups under the guise of government funding.
He warned that such spending will only deepen America’s fiscal crisis and fuel public anger toward Washington’s political class.
“This is a moment for leadership,” Johnson concluded. “It’s time to put the American people first and end this shutdown—not by giving in to woke demands, but by standing firm for fiscal sanity and common sense.”