'I’m begging you — my kids could die': GOP C-SPAN caller corners Johnson live on-air

A Republican voter — a military spouse and mother of two children with medical needs whose husband suffers from PTSD — called into C-SPAN to blast House Speaker Mike Johnson for refusing to allow votes to end the shutdown and reopen the federal government.

Apologizing to the Speaker for her voice sounding “shaky,” the caller, Samantha from Virginia, said, “I have two medically fragile children. I have a husband who actively serves this country. He suffers from PTSD from his two tours in Afghanistan.”

She explained that if the military does not get paid on October 15, “my children do not get to get the medication that’s needed for them to live their life, because we live paycheck to paycheck.”

Samantha urged Speaker Johnson to pass legislation to get the military paid, which she said, President Trump supports.

“You have the power to do that. And as a Republican, I’m very disappointed in my party, and I’m very disappointed in you, because you do have the power to call the House back.”

She blasted him for his refusal to do so, saying it was “just for a show.”

“I am begging you to pass this legislation. My kids could die,” she said.

“We don’t have the credit because of the medical bills, that I have to pay regularly. You could stop this, and you could be the one that could say military’s getting paid. And I think that it is awful, and the audacity of someone who makes six figures a year, to do this to military families, it’s insane.”

Saying he was sorry to hear about Samantha’s “situation,” Speaker Johnson said he’s “been so angry this week,” because of “situations just like yours.”

“I have one of the biggest military districts and military families in America. I have a lot of airmen and soldiers who are deployed right now, and they have young families at home, and they have children in health situations like yours.”

“This is what keeps me up at night,” Johnson professed, before defending his party.

“The Republicans are the ones delivering for you. We had a vote to pay the troops. It was the continued resolution three weeks ago.”

Johnson has repeatedly insisted that the House has done its job to re-open the government by having passed that bill, while repeatedly also saying he refuses to allow any votes on the House floor that are not in keeping with that legislation — including any Senate bill that might come over.

“The Democrats are the ones that are preventing you from getting a check,” he said. Before blaming Chuck Schumer, claiming the Senate Democratic Leader “is enjoying this.”

“My heart goes out to you,” Johnson said.