Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the Trump administration’s plan to lay off thousands of federal workers is “regrettable,” but the fault is with Democrats who won’t agree to the Republicans’ proposal to reopen the government.

In an interview on NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” host Kristen Welker pressed Johnson on the administration’s unprecedented plan to lay off thousands of federal workers, noting it’s “never been done before in a shutdown.”

“We haven't seen the details yet about what's happening,” Johnson told Welker, when asked if he supports “laying off thousands of federal workers as a part of this shutdown.”

“But it is a regrettable situation that the president does not want,” the speaker continued.

Johnson suggested it was Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House

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