Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) issued a stark warning about the ongoing government shutdown this week, claiming that it could be one of the longest duration shutdowns on record if Democrats don't get their act straight.

According to Fox News, Speaker Johnson demanded that Democrats drop their "partisan demands" and work with Republicans across the aisle to get the government back up, funded and running as usual. 

His warning came during a press conference this week, which was officially day 13 of the shutdown that doesn't seem to have an end in sight, thanks to hardline Democrats refusing to budge off of their partisan demands.

The shutdown began on Oct. 1, after Senate Democrats refused to go along with the Republican-led funding plan.

What did he say?

Speaker Johnson held nothing back in his warning to his Democratic colleauges, warning that the shutdown could last longer than anyone could have imagined.

"We're barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history unless Democrats drop their partisan demands and pass a clean, no-strings-attached budget to reopen the government and pay our federal workers."

Interestingly, Speaker Johnson referenced a quote from former President Barack Obama during a shutdown under his watch.

"There is one way out of this reckless and damaging Republican shutdown: Congress has to pass a budget that funds our government with no partisan strings attached," Obama said at the time.

"What I just read was a direct quote. Those are not my words. They belong to President Barack Obama. He was speaking there in 2013 when our government was shut down for 16 days," Speaker Johnson said. "This would be the third-longest government shutdown in American history, that one would be."

The Republican speaker added, "If Democrats keep up their obstruction here today, that's where we're going to be headed."

Record on the verge of being set

The shutdown, as of this writing, is already the fifth longest in U.S. history, and has a chance to overtake the number one spot if it continues.

Fox News noted:

The longest shutdown in U.S. history lasted 35 days between December 2018 and January 2019, during President Donald Trump's first term.

The second-longest was a 21-day shutdown under former President Bill Clinton between December 1995 and January 1996, followed by the shutdown under Obama.

Many on the Democrat side of the aisle are sticking to their demands while playing the blame game and pointing fingers at Republicans.

It's clear that Democrats are responsible for continuing this chaos. We'll see how long they hold out before the pressure becomes too much.