President Trump and congressional Democrats pointed fingers at each other as the nation entered the first day of a government shutdown with scant hope for a resolution anytime soon.
With both sides dug in, there were no talks scheduled as non-essential federal services shuttered indefinitely and hundreds of thousands of government workers were facing furloughs or lay offs.
The White House sought to blame Democrats for refusing to rubber stamp a Republican stopgap spending bill.
“We’re in this position because Senate Democrats decided …. to shut down the people’s government,” Vice President JD Vance said. “There are critical services that the Democrats have taken hostage because they have a policy disagreement.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) countered by saying lawmakers have a responsibility to ensure millions of Americans don’t lose health coverage due to Trump’s refusal to extend subsidies to the Obamacare insurance program.
“It’s really the Trump shutdown,” Schumer said. “We have to solve the health care crisis. That’s our job.”
“Republicans have shut the government down because they don’t want to provide health care to working-class Americans,” added Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York), the House minority leader.
Most federal workers will be furloughed and won’t be paid until the shutdown ends.
Trump has threatened to permanently fire many of those workers and scrap some of the programs they administer. He has said “a lot of good” could come from the shutdown.
Air traffic controllers and agents operating airport checkpoints will keep working during the shutdown, along with military service members, immigration enforcement forces, FBI investigators and CIA officers.
Social Security payments will still go out. Seniors relying on Medicare coverage and veterans can still see their doctors and health care providers can be reimbursed.
Democratic leaders across the political spectrum, from rural and suburban moderates to progressive big-city activist, say they are united behind their leaders as they seek to resist Trump’s cuts and his refusal to negotiate with them.
“I’d rather be us than them in this fight,” veteran Democratic strategist James Carville said. “The incumbent party will suffer more.”
Polls suggest Democrats are right, at least for now.
A Marist survey released Tuesday found that 38% of respondents would blame Republicans for a shutdown, while 27% were set to blame Democrats. Some 31% say they would blame both sides, a group that strategists will be watching as the fight unfolds.
