Congressman August Pfluger of Texas’s 11th district joined House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise on the Republican Study Committee’s (RSC) “Right to the Point” podcast. The conversation took place as a government shutdown nears one month, with the representatives criticizing Democrats for their approach during ongoing negotiations.
The congressmen claimed that Democrats have used American families as leverage during the shutdown. They accused Democrats of voting 13 times to keep the government closed and demanding $1.5 trillion in new spending, including healthcare benefits for undocumented immigrants.
Speaker Johnson stated, “We’re really so frustrated and we’re just angry about the fact that Democrats are playing games right now. And it’s pretty readily apparent that simple facts are that we must have Democrats to reopen the government. And they keep saying breathlessly that it’s the Republicans. They’re in control of the government. Everybody knows from civics, and if you follow government, you have to have sixty votes in the Senate. We only have fifty-three Republicans. And so it is the Democrats who now voted thirteen times to close the government, to announce on the Senate Republicans voted every now to open. So it’s very clear, and everybody wants to know why. Well, it’s important to know what they’ve countered, what they’re demanding as ransom to reopen the government, to get paychecks back to federal employees and troops and TSA agents and Border Patrol agents, air traffic controllers and nutrition assistance to young women and elderly, disabled and veterans health care services and all of what they’re holding in ransom is the people themselves. Because what they’re demanding is $1.5 trillion in new spending. They want $200 billion to be returned for healthcare to illegal aliens, maybe more taxpayer dollars.”
Majority Leader Scalise commented on Democratic leadership: “I guess the thing that hits us the hardest, and the speakers convey this every day in our press conferences, is that while Democrats are talking openly now that they know they’re causing suffering, real suffering, on families, they don’t care because they want to exert leverage, leverage for what they can’t even articulate, they are scared to death of their socialist Marxists, the most extreme elements of their party, or who they’re afraid of. They’re doing this shutdown because they’re afraid of their own voters. That’s how valid and literally, how void of a moral compass the Democratic Party is right now, and so when their minority whip said the open part out loud that, gee whiz, they don’t care that they’re causing suffering because they want leverage. Who is suffering I think is important to ask right now because real families are suffering,and it’s getting more real every day.”
Pfluger also weighed in: “It’s really sad that we’re here because the shield was on the other foot when President Biden was in office and when Pelosi was Speaker; we had an adult conversation,and we were able to keep our military and Border Patrol and air traffic controllers funded.Something was said bythe number two Democrat in House,and we’ve all knownthat Democratshave undertonesof anti-family policy,and Republicansare standing firmlyfor families who are standing firmlyto protectwhat our greatest assetis.But what Katherine Clark said recently,it’s just disgustingto saywhat she saidwhich wasthat she knewthat American familieswere struggling,yet theseare theironly timesof leverage.”
The episode also included lighthearted predictions about whether Texas A&M Aggies or LSU Tigers would win this year’s College Football National Championship.
Pfluger has represented Texas’s 11th District since 2021 after succeeding Mike Conaway following his election victory over Jon Mark Hogg with nearly 80% of votes.
