US Rep. Glenn Grothman on 2025 Government Shutdown Politics

Zac Schultz:
We are on day 23 of the federal government shutdown. So far, the Senate has failed 12 times to pass the House bill that would reopen the government. Joining us now is Republican Congressman Glenn Grothman. Congressman, thanks for joining us.

Glenn Grothman:
Glad to be on the show.

Zac Schultz:
So the continuing resolution the House passed would only fund the government through November 21st. And at this point, we’re almost closer to that date than the start of the shutdown. Do you think Republicans should consider a new CR with maybe a longer date behind it?

Glenn Grothman:
Well, I think we should, first of all, wait a little bit and see if the Democrats will vote to keep the government open. I mean, like you just said, the Republicans in the Senate, my own Ron Johnson, have voted 12 times to keep the government open. And it’s what is normally automatic. So you understand we are waiting for a budget for the calendar year, for the fiscal year beginning October 1st. Thirteen times when Joe Biden was president, the Republicans helped him out by keeping the government open in similar circumstances. I bet it didn’t even make the shows, right? So I think a lot of us still want to believe that the Democrats will do what is par for the course, has been for decades, and just vote to keep the government open. No reason not to.

Zac Schultz:
So the hangup for Democrats in the Senate, according to them, is this extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies. They’re holding out for that. They expire at the end of the year. November 1st is when those subsidies, when the marketplace opens, and people may see what premiums may look like without those subsidies. Would you vote to extend the subsidies if that was the deciding factor in a deal?

Glenn Grothman:
You got to remember, it’s always fine and good to say we’re going to vote for more spending of every type. But right now, we’re borrowing 26% of our budget. That’s why we’ve got to get the continuing resolution passed, because there may wind up being a little more for subsidies in there, but it depends upon what’s going on in the other items. We’ve got about $1.8 trillion in discretionary spending that we’re voting to extend, of which the Obamacare subsidies are a part. That is because the Obamacare is flawed. It would be nice to change so Obamacare works, so we don’t have to keep dipping further and further into subsidies. But again, we’ve got to ask the Democrats. 26% of our budget is borrowed. What do you plan on cutting instead if you do want to put $34 billion a year, which is about what they’re looking at, into Obamacare subsidies?

Zac Schultz:
So one of the things that people in the public that are receiving these subsidies aren’t as nuanced in the federal government spending as obviously you are. But when they hear headlines like $20 billion for Argentina to bail out their economy, but we can’t afford subsidies for Americans. How do you explain that discrepancy there?

Glenn Grothman:
Well, I think President Trump is in a situation in which he doesn’t want Argentina to become a new Venezuela, which would be even more wildly expensive to deal with. I think they just have to realize the Obamacare was poorly drawn up. We are prepared to keep the government open. And then as far as subsidies are concerned, you know, they’ve got to ask us where other parts of the budget are that they don’t want to spend as much on. Again, the Americans have to get used to the fact that right now we’re borrowing 26% of our budget. You’re talking about Obamacare subsidies. I’ll tell you when I’m in my office, again and again and again, I meet Americans who want the government to spend more money. Can we spend more here? Can we spend more there? And, you know, I can think of things that can be done to get to $34 billion, but the Democrats haven’t put any of those things on the table. And in part, they haven’t put them on the table because we’re not negotiating. We’re not negotiating because we should keep the government open first. It’s just not that difficult of a demand. It’s something that’s done automatically. And if you look at the statements in the, the, the journals that are put out in Washington, D.C. the Democrats admit that the reason they are not opening the government is they want to use leverage, not just on Obamacare, but on things like more DEI programs, for example, which I think are just the most officious things and wouldn’t be good to spend money on if somebody gave us the money for free.

Zac Schultz:
So the consumer price index was released today and showed inflation was up 3% in September and they say largely due to tariffs. Do you continue to support Donald Trump’s tariff policy?

Glenn Grothman:
I’m not as big a fan of his tariffs as some other people, but you know, President Trump is our president. He’s a big fan of tariffs, as is his treasury secretary.

Zac Schultz:
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has canceled floor sessions over the past couple of weeks. Democrats say it’s because he doesn’t want to swear in a newly elected Democrat from Arizona, who potentially could be the final vote to discharge Epstein files. Do you believe that? Or do you think there’s another reason the floor — the House hasn’t come back to the floor?

Glenn Grothman:
I think the reason he doesn’t want Republicans back in Washington is I think he wants to control the narrative as far as what’s going on during the shutdown. And I think he’s afraid if you had 200 more Republicans running around Washington, the reporters would find somebody to say something that maybe Speaker Johnson wouldn’t like. I was back in Washington this week. I plan on returning to Washington next Monday, and if people want to interview me there, they can interview me there. I don’t have a problem going back to Washington.

Zac Schultz:
And today, the Trump administration announced they had denied Wisconsin’s application for federal disaster relief for six counties damaged by flooding in August. Some of those in your district. What is your reaction to that?

Glenn Grothman:
I was very disappointed. Obviously, we’re very broke. That may be one of the things that’s entering into the decision. It’s — we just got the news today and I’ll be contacting the Trump administration to see the reason for those decisions.

Zac Schultz:
All right, Congressman Grothman, thanks for your time today.

Glenn Grothman:
Thank you very much.