I’m really not sure why Mike Johnson chose to do this call-in show on C-Span. Perhaps the polls are showing that the public has soured on Republicans regarding this shutdown, and that a dose of PR with a display of faux empathy was warranted. If that was the plan, though, it backfired, as caller after caller berated Johnson for his ineffectiveness, his inability to guarantee the military would be paid, and his cowardice over not seating duly-elected Adelita Grijalva.
Source: Politico
Speaker Mike Johnson heard a plea from a military family to move legislation paying active-duty forces amid the government shutdown in a remarkable televised exchange Thursday.
Johnson is already under pressure from a growing number of fellow House Republicans to pass legislation to prevent a potential missed paycheck due Oct. 15 — in addition to the seven-week continuing resolution the House passed last month that would also pay the troops. But on C-SPAN, he heard directly from “Samantha,” a caller who identified herself as a Republican military mom from Fort Belvoir in Virginia and urged him to call the House back and take action.
“I’m begging you to pass this legislation,” she said, her voice cracking. “My kids could die.”
