Tennessee Republicans are calling out Democrats for shutting down the federal government.
On Wednesday, the federal government closed after Senate Republicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement on a spending bill to keep the government open.
The night before, the Senate rejected a Republican-backed bill that would have kept the government open until November 21.
This shutdown marks the second time it has occurred during President Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House. In Trump’s first term, a government shutdown occurred from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019. This shutdown became the longest in American history.
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said Senate Democrats “deliberately forced” a government closure and stopped a “clean extension of current spending levels in favor of a nearly $1.5 trillion package of far-left priorities.”
“Democrats had no problem voting for continuing resolutions when President Biden was autopenning them in the White House, but from the moment President Trump returned to the Oval Office they’ve reversed course, staging one political stunt after another,” she stated.
Blackburn added that Democrats deprived service members of “their earned paychecks, halted grants to state and local law enforcement, jeopardized care for seniors, and frozen critical services for Americans.”
“It’s time for Democrats to drop the games, pass the clean stop-gap bill we’ve already put forward, and join us in returning to a responsible, regular appropriations process,” she noted.
Representative Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04) said on X that his offices will continue to be open and help people during the shutdown.
“I am staying in constant communication with House Leadership, my colleagues in the Senate, and the White House and am encouraging this nonsensical political grandstanding to end,” he said.
DesJarlais stated the Democrats’ counterproposal adds $1.5 trillion to a four-week continuing resolution. The representative added that “woke DEI, climate change, and illegal alien healthcare programs” are a “non-starter.”
DesJarlais noted Schumer needs to “stop holding votes” so the Senate can get 60 votes to pass a spending bill to get Americans back to work.”
Rep. Chuck Fleishmann (R-TN-03) said government shutdowns “are stupid and always cause more harm than good.” He noted the House passed a short-term continuing resolution spending bill two weeks ago, which would have kept the government open until November 21. Still, instead of working with Republicans, Democrats chose to block the House’s spending bill and “force a government shutdown on the American people,” according to Fleishmann.
“Every day that the Democrat shutdown continues is another day that Americans are thrown into uncertainty, troops are not paid, our border security is weakened, and the high cost to taxpayers to reopen the government grows,” he explained.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates around 750,000 federal workers, which will cost approximately $400 million daily.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com.
Photo “Senator Chuck Schumer” by Senator Chuck Schumer.
