The U.S. government closed its doors shortly after midnight on Wednesday, just hours following the failure of Congress to advance stopgap funding measures.
Republicans and Democrats stood firm in their diverging views regarding a funding agreement that could prevent a shutdown.
A significant point of contention was the insistence from Democrats to include an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits in any temporary funding legislation.
Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, dispatched a memo to executive department heads on Tuesday evening instructing them to “execute their plans for a systematic shutdown.”
“Democrats Have Shutdown the Government,” a page from the White House stated, showcasing a clock that tracks the time elapsed since the shutdown commenced.
However, California’s Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, tweeted, “Donald Trump just shut down the government,” highlighting that both sides attribute blame to one another for the suspension of federal services and operations.
The leading Democrats in Congress, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, released a statement asserting, “After months of complicating life and increasing costs, Donald Trump and Republicans have now halted the federal government because they refuse to safeguard the healthcare of the American population.”
“Democrats stand prepared to pursue a bipartisan solution to reopen the government in a manner that reduces expenses and tackles the Republican healthcare dilemma. Yet we require a reliable partner,” the lawmakers from New York declared. “In recent days, President Trump’s behavior has become increasingly erratic and unstable. Instead of engaging in good faith negotiations, he obsesses over making bizarre deepfake videos. The nation urgently needs an intervention to escape yet another Trump shutdown.”
Senator John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat who deviated from his party’s majority to endorse a Republican funding interim bill on Tuesday, remarked, “This is a tragic day for our country.”
“Our government halts at midnight,” Fetterman stated.
“I refuse to support the chaos of shutting down our government,” he added. “My vote was cast in favor of our nation rather than my party.”
The Business Roundtable, a collective of prominent U.S. CEOs, urged swift actions to reopen the government.
“Funding the government is an indispensable duty of Congress,” declared Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten in a statement.
“A government closure would generate uncertainty, disrupt vital services, and harm American enterprises, workers, and families,” Bolten continued. “Business Roundtable calls on Congress to take prompt measures to avert a government shutdown.”
Legislators took to media channels to hold each other accountable for the impending shutdown, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected would lead to the furlough of approximately 750,000 federal employees.
“The overall daily expense for their compensation would be around $400 million,” the CBO reported in a letter to Senator Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who requested an estimation of the financial impact on federal workers during furloughs.
“The number of furloughed employees might fluctuate daily as certain agencies may furlough additional workers the longer a shutdown lasts, while others could call back some employees who were initially furloughed,” the letter explained.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” stated that Democrats “must regain their senses and do what is right.”
Johnson, R-La., asserted that Schumer and Jeffries have “cornered themselves” by imposing policy conditions in return for passing a funding bill that would sustain government operations for at least seven weeks.
Johnson remarked that such demands are irrelevant to the pressing need for a continuing resolution.
Democrats are adamant that any continuing resolution intended to fund the government shortly must comprise an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits.
These credits, which decrease the cost of health insurance premiums for millions of Americans purchasing coverage on ACA exchanges, are set to expire at the end of 2025.
Johnson charged that Democrats are attempting to shield Schumer’s “backside” by pressing these and other stipulations.
He claimed that Schumer and other Democratic leaders are wary that Schumer may become susceptible to challenges to his position and House seat from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., a prominent figure in the party’s progressive faction, should they not stand firm against Republican requests for a “clean” continuing resolution devoid of any health-care protection provisions.
Johnson suggested that a discussion on how to reform the ACA — commonly referred to as Obamacare — could take place at a later time.
He accused Democrats of seeking to extend federal health benefits to undocumented immigrants.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., in a separate interview on “Squawk Box,” labeled the matter of ACA tax credit extension as “a fabricated problem by the Democrats,” who are attempting to appease a voter base opposed to President Donald Trump.
“This is about Donald Trump,” Thune claimed. “Nothing more, nothing less.”
Jeffries, in his interview on “Squawk Box,” stated regarding Republicans, “If the government goes shut, it is their choice to do so.”
“We are prepared, willing, and able to seek a bipartisan solution,” Jeffries stated.
However, he noted that Democrats are not inclined to back a bill lacking health-care safeguards.
“We will not endorse a partisan Republican expenditure bill that undermines the health care of the American populace,” Jeffries asserted.
He indicated that by Wednesday, “notices will begin to go out” to millions of Americans regarding heightened insurance premiums they will face if ACA subsidies are not prolonged.
“We are striving to address the health care issues of the American people,” Jeffries emphasized.
When asked by CNBC’s Becky Quick, “Is it true you wish to restore taxpayer benefits to illegal immigrants?” Jeffries replied, “Absolutely not.”
“And I appreciate you asking that, as this is also a blatant falsehood,” Jeffries stated.
“Federal law bars the use of taxpayer funds for medical coverage for undocumented individuals,” he asserted. “That is the law, and there is nothing in any proposals we have made that aims to alter that law.”
