Republicans are zeroing in on the fallout Democrats’ government shutdown is inflicting on their own states as the funding lapse reaches the eight-day mark with no end in sight.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso accused Senate Democrats of selling out their constituents to score political points with the party’s left-wing base on the Senate floor on Wednesday. Despite a prolonged shutdown jeopardizing access to food aid programs and forcing troops to temporarily report for duty without pay, Democrats appear to be gearing up for a drawn-out fight.
“Democrats are holding the American people hostage to extract far-left concessions,” Barrasso said on the Senate floor. “They’re telling our service members their paychecks are negotiable. They’re telling small businesses their dreams are collateral damage in a partisan fight. They’re telling mothers with young children their WIC benefits are leverage for far-left demands.”
“Republicans remain committed to ensuring families receive the support they deserve,” Barrasso added. “Regrettably, Democrats have chosen repeatedly to keep the government closed for political purposes.”
Senate Democrats have voted down multiple attempts to pass a clean funding measure that would restore government operations until Republicans agree to add on more than $1.5 trillion in spending demands. Just two Democratic lawmakers and an independent senator who caucus with Democrats have crossed party lines to reopen the government, leaving the spending measure short of the 60-vote threshold to clear the upper chamber.
Republicans have balked at Democrats’ policy demands and have refused to negotiate on unrelated policy until Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer supplies the votes to reopen the government.
GOP lawmakers argue that a prolonged shutdown will only create more fallout for Americans nationwide, including those in Democratic-led states, the longer the funding lapse continues.
Barrasso noted that more than 100,000 federal employees in Georgia are reporting to work without the expectation of receiving a timely paycheck. Both of Georgia’s Democratic senators have voted against a bipartisan extension of government funding five times.
The duo could reject the House-passed continuing resolution to reopen the government for a sixth time when the Senate votes on the measure later today.
Barrasso will also directly named Schumer’s home state of New York, which is expected to run out of money providing food aid and neonatal care to parents and their babies later this week.
Though the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is at risk of running out of funding due to the shutdown, Schumer is showing few signs he will reverse course and reopen the government.
“In New York, 438,000 individuals who rely on WIC will lose access at the end of this week,” Barrasso said. “These are pregnant women, new mothers, and young children who depend on this program.”
“Those are real impacts on real people beyond the paychecks,” Barrasso told the DCNF on Tuesday. “Imagine you’re a mother who goes into a store on Saturday with her grocery cart, and she’s on the WIC program, and then all of a sudden she goes to the checkout and is told, I’m sorry your cart has nothing on it. That’s what these guys are causing.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Tuesday that the Trump administration would use tariff revenue to shore up the program.
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