WASHINGTON, D.C. (KELO) — Speaking to media in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota expressed a hope that his caucus can come together to avoid what he called “a stupid government shutdown.”

Asked by D.C. correspondent Allie Mannheimer about the upcoming prospect of a government shutdown, Johnson lead with a line we’ve heard before.

“Shutdowns are stupid,” Johnson remarked. “We are $33 trillion in debt, so I understand the frustration of those people who say ‘we spend too much money. Shut it all down.’ The reality is, shutdowns don’t save a dollar.”

Providing his position on the matter, Johnson said he can’t look a Marine in the eyes with kids at home and tell them “you know what, you don’t deserve to get a paycheck because Washington doesn’t have its act together.”

Following this statement, Johnson brought up the prospect of a stopgap measure he says that newly minted Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana is considering. “I think [Speaker Johnson]’s going to get pretty broad support for doing that,” he said.

Dusty Johnson referenced a sort of ‘honeymoon’ period for new Speakers in his optimism that a measure to delay a shutdown could come to fruition, though there may be some speed bumps along the way.

“You do have eight or ten chaos agents in the House that it’s almost impossible for them to get to yes on anything and frankly, they like chaos, they like kicking other people’s sandcastles down,” said Johnson. “It’s hard to know exactly where those folks are gonna come out.”

Despite these so-called ‘chaos agents’, Johnson says he believes 96% of House Republicans — “that supported the last Speaker,” he said — will be with Speaker Johnson in an effort to avoid a shutdown.