news

Originally Published in San Angelo LIVE on October 28, 2025.

WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11), Chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) and 20+ year fighter pilot and Air Force Reservist, joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Leadership members in a press conference on day 28 of the Democrats' "reckless government shutdown." 

During his remarks, Rep. Pfluger called out Democrats for using American families as political leverage and drew a stark contrast between the Democrat party of President John F. Kennedy and today's Democrat Party under Leader Schumer and Whip Clark, who admitted their party will allow American families to suffer because it's one of the few “leverage times” they have. 

Rep. Pfluger stated, "I think we all know today‘s Democratic Party is not the party of JFK, who once famously said, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.’ Instead, Democrats under Schumer, Clark, and Mamdani are saying: ask not what you can do for your country, but WHO you can leverage for your radical agenda.”

Rep. Pfluger also stood up for American service members and military families, as soldiers are at risk of missing paychecks on Friday, critical military trainings continue to be cancelled, and Commanders are being forced to focus more on how to support families in need than on the mission ahead of them. Rep. Pfluger's message was clear: “Our enemy has not shut down, our enemy wants us divided, and it's time to end this manufactured crisis.”