Democrats in the 119th Congress caused three government shutdowns totaling 120 days.
Posted by Speaker Mike Johnson, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
Speaker Mike Johnson@SpeakerJohnsonNov 11, 2026The sources support three funding lapses under the 119th Congress (a 42-43 day full shutdown from Oct 1, 2025, a brief DHS lapse of about two days, and a 76-day DHS shutdown) totaling roughly 120 days, so the count and total hold.
What was said
… Yes, and we did that, you know, I mentioned yesterday in my remarks is in spite of the razor thin margin that we had in most of this Congress and in spite of the fact that we had just historic levels of obstruction by the Democrats, as I mentioned, they shut the government down, remember, three times they had the two longest shutdowns in US history, 120 days in total. They tried to obstruct everything we were doing. And yet we had this incredible record of achievement in the 119th Congress. Largest tax cut in US history for working and middle class earners. …
Speaker Mike Johnson@SpeakerJohnson · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. A USC analysis says lawmakers failed to fund the government on time on three separate occasions in the 119th Congress, the first lasting 43 days and the 76-day DHS lapse following a brief second lapse.[1]
Supports. CRS reports the October 1, 2025 full shutdown lasted 42 full days and was the longest in U.S. history, consistent with the roughly 43-day figure cited elsewhere.[2][3]
Supports. Courthouse News says Democrats' revolt against the GOP agenda drove the shutdowns, including refusing to back DHS funding in early 2026, which supports the claim's attribution.[4]
Contradicts. ABA Journal describes the fall 2025 standoff as a dispute over extending ACA subsidies with both parties pressing positions, so sole Democratic causation is disputed rather than established.[3]
Context. Wikipedia lists the 76-day DHS shutdown as beginning February 14, 2026, and the 43-day shutdown as the first under Trump's second presidency; the 'two longest' label applies to governmentwide and department-level records respectively.[5]
Sources
5 sources: 2 primary, 3 not rated
- 1How Productive was the 119th Congress? (Part 2)dornsife.usc.edu · primary source · cited for: supports
- 2Government Shutdowns: Applying the Antideficiency Act to ...congress.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 3ABA Advocacy: The first session of the 119th Congress - ABA Journalabajournal.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 4The 119th Congress ends with a whimper, not a bangcourthousenews.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Government shutdowns in the United States - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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