The last time a sitting House speaker fielded live, on-air questions from C-SPAN callers was way back in 2001, when then-Rep. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., appeared on the network. Nearly a quarter of a century later, the incumbent speaker, Republican Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, gave it a try.

In hindsight, it’s hard not to wonder whether the GOP leader wishes he hadn’t. NBC News reported:

A C-SPAN caller made an emotional plea to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Thursday to end the government shutdown, saying that ‘my kids could die’ if she can’t afford their medication. The woman, identified as Samantha from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, expressed concerns over what would happen to her family if military service members do not get paid next week. The caller, who was also identified as a Republican, said that she has ‘two medically fragile children’ and that her husband ‘actively serves his country’ and had spent two military tours in Afghanistan.

There is an ongoing debate about not just when and how to end the ongoing government shutdown, but also about a related effort related specifically to benefits for military members. Indeed, several members have talked about a short-term, standalone bill with emergency pay for the troops, separate from a spending bill that would reopen the government. House GOP leaders have resisted, saying that they’ve already addressed military benefits — in the larger spending bill that Democrats have already rejected.

With this in mind, the C-SPAN caller told the Republican House speaker that, starting next week, her family might not be able to afford the medication that her children need to live.

“I am begging you to pass this legislation,” she said. “My kids could die.”

The woman went on to say that she was “very disappointed in my party, and I’m very disappointed in you.”

For his part, Johnson urged the caller to believe that he and his GOP colleagues are “the ones delivering for you” — all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding — and continued to blame Democrats for not simply accepting the Republican package that he tried to impose on the Senate.

Shortly before his C-SPAN appearance, Johnson held a call with his members and told them he doesn’t plan to hold a vote on a bill for the troops before they start to miss paychecks next week, arguing that Senate Democrats would probably reject it.

That assumption appears to be wrong. “We have no idea what Speaker Johnson is talking about,” a spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told Politico.