Sole House Democrat Who Voted To Keep Government Open Blames Far-Left Groups For Shutdown

Democratic Maine Rep. Jared Golden said Wednesday that the government shutdown has been “driven” by the “demands” of “far-left groups.”

Golden was the sole Democrat to vote in favor of House Republicans’ stopgap funding plan on Sept. 19. The congressman’s comments come after Senate Democrats blocked a GOP spending bill to fund the government late Tuesday evening, kicking off a government shutdown on Wednesday.

“This government shutdown is the result of hardball 🏛️Politics driven by the demands far-left groups are making for Democratic Party leaders to put on a show of their opposition to President Trump,” Golden wrote in a statement posted to X. “The shutdown is hurting Americans and our economy, and the irony is it has only handed more power to the president.”

“This fight is ostensibly about health care, so let me be clear: I opposed the GOP’s Medicaid cuts and I want to extend the ACA tax credits. But some of my colleagues in the majority party have reasonable concerns about tax credits going to high-income households. There’s room and time to negotiate. But normal policy disagreements are no reason to subject our constituents to the continued harm of this shutdown,” the congressman’s post continued.