(AURN News) — It’s day 13 of the government shutdown, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., says he’s not backing down. Standing alone at the Capitol, Johnson told reporters he will not negotiate with Democrats until they drop their health care demands.
Meanwhile, thousands of federal workers have already been fired under the Trump administration’s shutdown order — an unprecedented move that unions are now suing over.
Vice President J.D. Vance called the cuts painful but necessary. The standoff has shuttered Smithsonian museums, grounded some flights, and left paychecks in limbo for hundreds of thousands.
Johnson thanked President Donald Trump for ensuring the military gets paid this week, but that relief won’t reach most federal employees.
At the center of the fight are Affordable Care Act subsidies for millions of Americans. Democrats want to extend them before funding the government, while Republicans say that it can wait.
But with the House out and the Senate stalled, the shutdown is on track to become the longest in U.S. history.
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
