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Former college football coach and broadcaster Lou Holtz released a lengthy video Tuesday weighing in on the current government shutdown.
In the video sent to X, the College Football Hall of Famer called the situation “unfair” while decrying a system of government dependency.
In the caption of the video, Holtz called out only Democrats, writing “Democrats know that as long as you depend on them, you’ll vote for them — and that’s exactly how they like it.” Senate Democrats have remained steadfast in refusing to support Republican-led proposals to reopen the government unless their plans include expansions of federal health care subsidies.
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President Donald Trump presents the Medal of Freedom to former college football coach Lou Holtz in the Oval Office of the White House on December 3, 2020 in Washington, DC (Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images)
“It’s ridiculous to have so many people counting on the government, and to have one party say, ‘No, we’re not going to open it up.’ It’s unfair,” Holtz said.
“What I see the government doing, it’s unfair. It’s unbelievable. It’s not the way it was set up to be. And yet we’re trying to play games. Just open up the government, let it work as we go along. But no, you’re going to get more people to trust you. That’s why you’re going to give them government subsidies. As long as they don’t vote the way you vote. Should be.
The former coach went on to cite his experience growing up after the end of World War II and being born into the Great Depression.
“I was probably 10 years old then, and at that time there was no government help at all. You were expected to take care of yourself. No government… I think until 1947, it really never happened. It was up to you to take care of yourself. And you found a way to do it,” he added.
“I was born during the depression, my father had a third-grade education. It wasn’t always easy. But my father worked at many different small jobs to be able to put food on the table for the family. We never had an awful lot, but what you did then, you bought what you could afford, not what you wanted, but what you could afford, and that was so critical.”
Holtz expressed concern for the country’s future amid growing government control and dependency.
“I worry about the future of this country. Why is that? Because we’ve gotten to the point where it’s all about government and, ‘What can you do for me?’ And I will vote for the person who promised me more free stuff than anything else. There is no free lunch,” he said.
“They put together a group that tries to tear down the secret of success.”
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Lou Holtz of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish watches during an NCAA football game. (Focus on Sports/Getty Images)
Holtz coached for 33 years in college with six different programs, most notably Notre Dame, where he went 100-30 during his 11 years with the Fighting Irish. He has since been a staunch conservative and supporter of President Donald Trump in recent years.
The current one government shutdown is hours away from breaking a record for being the longest ever in history.
The previous record was held by the 2018-2019 government shutdown during President Donald Trump’s first term. Trump signed legislation ending that shutdown at 9 p.m. on the 35th day.
Tuesday marks the 35th day of the current fiscal standoff. And with no deal yet between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, it’s almost certain that the dispute will bleed into Day 36.
For weeks, Republicans have been pushing a short-term extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal funding levels called a continuing resolution (CR), aimed at giving lawmakers until Nov. 21 to reach a deal on FY2026 spending.
The measure is largely free of unrelated policy riders, except for an additional $88 million intended increased security funding for lawmakers, the White House and the Supreme Court.
But Democrats have said they will reject any federal funding bill that does not also extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of 2025. The enhanced subsidies were a COVID-19 pandemic-era measure that a majority of Republicans have said are no longer needed.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have said they are open to discussing a reformed version of those subsidies, but declined to pair the two issues together.
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The house passed CR on September 19. Johnson has kept his chamber out of session since then in an effort to pressure Senate Democrats to agree to the GOP bill — though they have rejected it 13 times since then.
Meanwhile, funding for critical government programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, as well as national flood insurance are running critically low on funds — potentially trapping millions of Americans.
