Thank you for reaching out. I understand your frustration. The problem with your petition is that you do not correctly identify the problem. Republican Speaker Johnson has put Republicans on vacation for six weeks. It helps him and Republicans when you muddle things by blaming all of Congress, instead of laying blame squarely on the Republican Speaker.

Republicans control the White House, the Senate and the House. They would love nothing more than to have the American people be confused.

I’ve flown back to DC for 5 weeks even though Republican Speaker Johnson cancelled session, so I support your sentiment. But the petition helps Republicans by implying somehow it’s an everyone problem when it is not. It is a Republican shutdown.

—Rep. Ted Lieu


A Note from the Civic Engagement Team:
Change.org provides a tool that allows petition starters and supporters to email decision makers directly from our platform. The above response was sent in reply to an email from the petition starter to Rep. Ted Lieu.