House Speaker Mike Johnson erupted Thursday after learning that Democrat-led states filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture for attempting to determine how many illegal aliens are receiving taxpayer-funded benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

At a press conference alongside USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, Johnson accused Senate Democrats of prioritizing political theater over feeding American families as the government shutdown entered its 31st day.

“They sued the USDA for asking them, simply asking them to tell them how many illegal aliens are on the programs in California, New York, and these other states,” Johnson said.

“They sued them. You need to take account of what people are doing here in each party, the leaders and the President of the United States.”

Johnson said Democrats have voted 14 times to block a clean continuing resolution that would reopen the government and restore funding to SNAP, which expired earlier this week.

He argued that Democrats have “manufactured a crisis” to weaponize the shutdown for political gain while millions of Americans struggle to afford groceries.

“We are trying to get government to work more efficiently and effectively for the people, and we are getting stopped and hindered by political games by Democrats,” Johnson said.