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Former college football coach and broadcaster Lou Holtz released a lengthy video on Tuesday about the current government shutdown.
In the video, posted to X, the College Football Hall of Famer called the situation “unfair” while condemning a system of dependence on government.
In the video’s caption, Holtz only called out Democrats, writing “Democrats know that as long as you depend on them, you will vote for them — and that’s exactly how they like it.” Senate Democrats remained steadfast in their refusal to support Republican proposals to reopen the government unless their plans included an expansion 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 December 3, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images)
“It’s ridiculous to see so many people relying on the government and to see one party say, ‘No, we’re not going to open it.’ It’s unfair,” Holtz said.
“What I see of what the government is doing, it’s unfair. It’s unbelievable. That’s not how it was created. And yet we’re trying to play games. Just open up the government, let it run as it goes. But no, you want more people to rely on you. That’s why you want to give them government handouts. As long as they’re counting on you, they’ll vote for you and that’s not the way it should be.
The former coach then spoke about his childhood experience following the end of World War II and being born into the Great Depression.
“I was probably 10 years old at the time, and at that time there was no government help.
“I was born during the depression, my father had a college education. Things weren’t always very easy. But my father did a lot of odd jobs to be able to feed the family. We never had a lot of food, but what you did back then, you bought what you could afford, not what you wanted, but what you could afford and that was so crucial.”
Holtz expressed concern for the country’s future amid growing government control and dependence.
“I worry about the future of this country. Why? Because we’ve gotten to the point where it’s all about government and, ‘What can you do for me?’ And I’m going to vote for the person who promised me more free things than anything else. There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” he said.
“They have put together a group that is trying to unlock the secret of success.”
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Lou Holtz of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish attends an NCAA football game. (Focus on sport/Getty Images)
Holtz coached for 33 years in college with six different programs, including 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 government shutdown is hours away from breaking a record for being the longest in history.
The previous record was held by the government shutdown in 2018-2019 during President Donald Trump’s first term. Trump signed a law ending this shutdown at 9 p.m. on the 35th day.
Tuesday marks the 35th day of the current budget impasse. And since no agreement has yet been reached between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, it is almost certain that the dispute will continue into the 36th day.
Republicans have pushed for weeks for a short-term extension of federal funding levels for fiscal 2025, called a continuing resolution (CR), aimed at giving lawmakers until Nov. 21 to reach an agreement on fiscal 2026 spending.
The measure is largely free of unrelated policy riders, except for an additional $88 million intended to improved security funding for lawmakers, the White House and the Supreme Court.
But Democrats said they would reject any federal funding bill that did not also extend Obamacare’s enhanced subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of 2025. The enhanced subsidies were a COVID-19 pandemic-era measure that a majority of Republicans say is no longer needed.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have said they are open to discussing a reformed version of those grants, but have rejected combining the two issues.
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The house passed the CR on September 19. Johnson has since kept his chamber out of session in an effort to pressure Senate Democrats into accepting the GOP bill — although they have rejected it 13 times since then.
Meanwhile, funding for critical government programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program, as well as National Flood Insurance, are running short – potentially trapping millions of Americans.
