(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is doing a “wonderful job,” despite growing frustrations among other Senate Republicans as the deadline nears for a solution to prevent a federal government shutdown.

Johnson is having trouble getting the votes needed to avoid the shutdown at month’s end, and while some in the Senate say if the House can’t act by Thursday, they’ll do it themselves, Grassley is offering Johnson a little more leeway. “He’s got very narrow margin, can only lose two or three votes,” Grassley says, “and in the House, if the majority party doesn’t stick together, you don’t run the show.”

Grassley fears the type of message it would send to voters if Congress can’t find a way to cooperate and prevent the shutdown, especially with the general election looming in November. “They should not show the disunity that they’re showing now on not approving appropriations for next year,” Grassley says, “or the public’s going to read it that they don’t know how to run the House of Representatives, so you might as well turn it over to the Democrats.”

Sen. Grassley

Grassley calls government shutdowns a “stupid idea.” “It costs money to shut down the government. Do you know what? Even costs money for 10 days before the government might shut down, for the government to get ready to shut it down, and then it costs money to open up the government,” Grassley says, “and then what’s the government for?”

Grassley says the federal government’s main purposes are to protect the people and to offer needed services, and it can’t do either one if it’s closed for business. He anticipates there will be a “continuing resolution” that would prevent a shutdown, or at least push back the anticipated date.