On Thursday, President Donald Trump declared that his administration intends to leverage the current government shutdown to permanently eliminate programs favored by Democrats, marking his latest warning amid the ongoing funding deadlock.
“We’re specifically cutting Democrat programs,” Trump remarked during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
It was unclear initially which initiatives Trump was referring to, but he emphasized that they were “very popular Democrat programs that aren’t well-received by Republicans, to be honest.”
“They asked for this,” Trump noted, reiterating his blame on Democrats for the shutdown.
They will “experience a bit of their own medicine,” he further stated.
The president’s warning to go after Democratic priorities surfaced a week after he initially suggested causing difficulties for his political rivals during the shutdown, which has now reached its ninth day.
In a post on Truth Social last Thursday, he mentioned that the congressional funding impasse presented him with an “unprecedented opportunity” to cut what he termed “Democrat Agencies.”
He also indicated he would be consulting with Russell Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, to decide what to eliminate.
On the shutdown’s first day, Vought revealed that the administration would halt around $18 billion in funding for infrastructure projects in New York City, along with canceling approximately $8 billion more intended for climate initiatives in states that lean Democratic.
Two days later, Vought announced that $2.1 billion in funding for transit projects in Chicago had also been paused.
The administration is contemplating scrapping an extra $12 billion allocated for clean energy projects, as reported by Semafor on Tuesday.
The shutdown commenced on Oct. 1 after Republican and Democratic congressional leaders failed to pass spending bills to maintain government funding beyond the fiscal year’s end.
Republicans are advocating for a temporary measure to restore funding primarily at current levels until Nov. 21. Democrats argue that any funding legislation should include further health-care safeguards, like extending premium Affordable Care Act tax credits before they lapse at the year’s end.
The conflicting proposals have consistently failed to gain Senate approval.
