(MENAFN) The United States is on a course toward facing “one of the longest” government shutdowns in its history unless Democratic lawmakers support a spending measure, House Speaker Mike Johnson cautioned on Monday.

During a press briefing held on the 13th day of the ongoing closure, Johnson attributed the stalemate to what he described as Democratic “obstruction.”

He asserted that the unwillingness of Democratic leaders to reach a middle ground is steering the nation closer to an extended governmental freeze.

“This would be the third longest government shutdown in American history,” Johnson told the press from Capitol Hill.

He continued by saying, “We’re barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history, unless Democrats dropped their partisan demands and passed a clean, no-strings-attached budget to reopen the government and pay our federal workers.”

Johnson underscored that the Republican party is open to working on comprehensive annual funding agreements and other urgent legislative priorities, but only under open and straightforward circumstances.

“Republicans are eager to return to the actual negotiating table to finish out full year appropriations and do work on all the other matters before us, but we won't negotiate in smoke-filled back rooms, and we won't negotiate as hostages,” he said.

Although a government closure does not immediately plunge the economy into turmoil, it significantly disrupts various aspects of daily life in the United States and contributes to broader concerns regarding the stability of the global economy.

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