House Speaker Mike Johnson and Vice President JD Vance sharply criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday morning talk shows, accusing him of dishonesty and holding the government hostage amid an ongoing shutdown. Both argued that Democrats are blocking a House-passed funding measure for political gain. The exchanges highlight deepening partisan tensions as negotiations stall.
On October 12, 2025, House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared on "Fox News Sunday" with anchor Shannon Bream to address the federal government shutdown. Johnson directly challenged Schumer's claims that Republicans, who control the House, White House, and Senate, could reopen the government at any time. "Chuck Schumer is incapable of telling the truth right now," Johnson said. "He’s been in Congress for 44 years... It requires 60 votes in the Senate to get this through. We only have 53 Republicans."
Johnson noted that the Republican-led House had already passed a continuing resolution (CR) to temporarily reopen the government at current spending levels, providing seven more weeks for broader negotiations. He accused Schumer of stalling for political cover, referencing backlash Schumer faced from the left after voting for a similar measure in March. "Chuck Schumer, when he voted for the EXACT SAME measure back in March, took a lot of heat from the left of his party, and he doesn’t want to sustain that any longer. So, he’s doing this and inflicting pain for his own selfish reasons," Johnson explained.
In a parallel interview on CBS's "Face the Nation" with Margaret Brennan, Vice President JD Vance echoed the frustration. Vance dismissed calls for President Donald Trump to host negotiations, calling the situation "hostage-taking" rather than genuine deal-making. "This isn’t a deal-making. This isn’t a negotiation. This is hostage-taking," Vance declared. He pointed out that Senate leadership, led by Schumer, is driving the impasse despite the House-passed CR. Vance referenced Schumer's prior statement that only the five congressional leaders and the president could resolve the crisis, but argued Democrats are issuing ultimatums tied to undoing Republican priorities from a recent election, including the "Big Beautiful Bill."
Vance welcomed discussions on issues like health care policy but rejected demands that threaten a shutdown unless Republicans capitulate fully. The interviews underscore Republican assertions that Democrats are exploiting the shutdown to reverse post-election legislative gains, while no immediate resolution appears in sight.