'Johnson’s plan has failed': GOP reportedly pointing fingers as shutdown strategy flops

House Republicans’ faith in House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) winning the battle for public opinion in the government shutdown is looking more and more misplaced, reported the Washington Post.

According to a Thursday report, Johnson sent his caucus home after sending their budget bill to the GOP-majority Senate in the belief the Senate Democrats would fold under pressure from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) – but that has turned into a big bust.

As the Post’s Paul Kane wrote, “So far, Johnson’s plan has failed.”

The report noted that Johnson held a private teleconference call on Tuesday where Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) complained, “This shutdown strategy is old and Republicans need to have new tactics.”

After her comment was leaked, Johnson was forced to do some cleanup by telling reporters, as Kane wrote, that “Van Duyne — 'a dear friend,' as he put it — was not being critical but instead pushing for something to break up the monotony of the current impasse.”

Nonetheless, the Post reported that Republicans are getting antsy about being blamed for the shutdown, which could loom as a huge cloud over the midterm elections.

“Thus far, Democrats do not appear to be bearing the brunt of the blame for the shutdown, either. An early October Washington Post poll found 47 percent of voters blamed Trump and Republicans for the shutdown, while 30 percent blamed Democrats. A new Reuters poll this week found 50 percent blamed Republicans and 43 percent blamed Democrats,” the Post is reporting before noting there appears to be no indication that Johnson will change course anytime soon.

That has given the Democrats an opening to pile the blame on Republicans with a statement that claimed, “As House Republicans continue their month-long vacation, House Democrats are on Capitol Hill hearing directly from Americans impacted by service cuts, mass firings and health care price hikes.”

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