In a lighthearted moment, President Donald Trump has reportedly quipped that he is serving as both the President and the Speaker of the House. This remark was shared in a New York Times article, which cited two anonymous sources familiar with the president’s comments.

The jest comes during a period when the U.S. House of Representatives has been inactive for almost the entire month of October. This hiatus follows the government’s shutdown, which began on October 1 after the expiration of the previous funding package. Speaker of the House, Johnson, has decided not to reconvene the House until the Senate approves a new funding bill to resolve the shutdown.

Amidst this governmental standstill, President Trump has taken decisive action to ensure that military personnel continue to receive their paychecks. This move highlights his administration’s efforts to mitigate the impact of the shutdown on essential services.

Interestingly, a recent survey conducted by Economist/YouGov between October 17 and 20, which included 1,621 participants, found that 49 percent of Americans feel the government shutdown has not personally affected them. This statistic offers insight into the varied perceptions of the shutdown’s direct impact on American lives.

An Economist/YouGov poll conducted from October 17 to 20 that garnered 1,621 responses showed that 49 percent of Americans say the shutdown is ‘not at all’ affecting them personally. 

President Trump has also ordered members of the military to receive pay during the government shutdown.

The president has ruled that they will be paid using any available funds from the Fiscal Year 2026 budget that Congress has already appropriated.

Republicans have supported a short-term measure to fund the government generally at current levels through November 21 but Democrats blocked it, insisting the measure address their concerns on health care.

President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Brazil’s President at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on October 26, 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

President Donald Trump listens as House Speaker Mike Johnson, speaks during an event to welcome the 2025 LSU and LSU-Shreveport national champion baseball teams in the East Room of the White House, Monday, October 20, 2025, in Washington

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) (L) speaks to reporters outside of his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on October 1, 2025, the first day of the US Federal Government shutdown

On October 1, the first day of the shutdown, the President said he would with meet with Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought ‘to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent.’

Amid the shutdown, a high-ranking Democrat also appears to have admitted an inconvenient truth.

Massachusetts Representative Katherine Clark, who is the Minority Whip of the United States House of Representatives, admitted that she views families struggling during the shutdown as ‘leverage’ for her party to use in political games.

‘Shutdowns are terrible. And of course there will be families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously, but it is one of the few leverage times we have,’ Clark said.

Clark’s comments, made during an interview with Fox News Channel’s Senior Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram last week, were rebuked on Tuesday by several congressional Republicans and also played in the White House press briefing room.

White House reporters were surprised to see the video pop up on the briefing screens, but it played throughout the day as they passed through. 

Wisconsin Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden wrote on X, ‘This is exactly what Chuck Schumer meant when he said, “Every day gets better for us.”‘ 

Texas GOP Senator John Cornyn noted in his own X post, ‘It is shameful to use the American people as leverage to push your radical agenda. Millions of Americans are suffering, also adding, “Democrats don’t care.”‘

Iowa Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who represents one of the most competitive House seats, called Clark’s comments ‘disgraceful’, also stating that the ‘Democrat leaders are perfectly okay with American families suffering.’