Shutdowns serve as excuse for GOP and Democrats to spend more, says Sen. Ron Johnson

toggle caption J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, says he is "sick and tired" of the current federal shutdown and placed blame on both Republicans and Democrats for how negotiations play out during federal shutdowns.

In an interview with Morning Edition, Johnson said shutdowns are often a good excuse for the "uniparty" — a collection of both Republicans and Democrats "that are happy to mortgage our children's future" — to spend more federal money.

"It's often said 'show me a member of Congress who ever lost because he spent too much money.' That's our problem," Johnson continued. "And the other problem is the American public, by and large, loves free federal money."

Sponsor Message

With the Senate unable to pass either of two dueling continuing resolution spending proposals, most of the federal government remains shut down.

Republicans want a clean spending bill that would fund the government for seven weeks. Democrats insist that any measure should extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies — which are used by over 20 million people to make their health insurance more affordable. Those subsidies will expire at the end of the year. Democrats also want to reverse cuts to health spending made by President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act and li