A significant number of Democrats voted against a continuing resolution to prevent a partial government shutdown this past week, as highlighted by a statistic shared by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) over the weekend. Speaking on Life, Liberty, & Levin on Fox News, Johnson discussed how Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, “put the Democrats on record for just raw partisan politics” with their votes on the stopgap bill.
“Think of it: 99% of the Democrats in Congress, both the House and the Senate, voted to shut the government down to try to make some sort of aimless political point,” Johnson told host Mark Levin. “It’s shameless. They are using the American people as pawns. But Republicans are getting the job done and we’re sticking up for the country.”
Only one House Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), voted in favor of passing the continuing resolution, which funds various federal agencies and programs through September 30. In the Senate, a few Democrats chose not to block the funding patch, but only Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Angus King (I-ME) voted to pass it.
99% of Democrats in Congress voted to shut down the government just to make an aimless political point. It is shameless. They are using the American people as pawns.
Meanwhile, Republicans stuck together and got the job done to keep our government funded. pic.twitter.com/nQx5POfjJg
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) March 16, 2025
Johnson thanked his Republican colleagues for largely staying unified and credited President Donald Trump for playing a “huge part” in rallying enough support to pass the continuing resolution before Friday’s midnight deadline. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) were the only Republicans to break from the party line, expressing concerns that the stopgap bill would continue funding programs that the Trump administration aims to cut through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort led by Elon Musk. However, Johnson argued that the measure did demonstrate fiscal restraint.
“We all dug in and got the job done for the second — third time in a row. They keep underestimating us on these big votes, but the Republicans are sticking together and getting it done,” Johnson said. “And this time, we passed a resolution to fund the government — to do the responsible thing. To do it in a way that actually reduces spending year over year, which we think is the first time that might have happened in the modern era — if ever.”