Summary
- White
House launched a shutdown countdown clock blaming Democrats. - The
website states: “Democrats have shut down the government.” - Clock
links to list of impacted departments and criticism of Democrats.
According to the website, “Democrats Have Shut Down the
Government,” and “Americans Don’t Agree with Democrats’
Actions.”
Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for health care
and expenditure in the run-up to the vote.
Republicans said they can reopen the government on Wednesday
if just five Democrats join the GOP “to pass the clean, nonpartisan
funding bill that’s in front of us.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune
begged Democrats to do so.
“Democrats have officially shut down the federal
government. They’re putting illegal aliens FIRST and hurting hardworking
Americans in the process,”
a post from the House Republicans X account
read.
On Wednesday, about ten hours into the shutdown, the White
House declared
the Democrats’
“$1.5T radical wishlist – FREE health care for illegals
& zero regard for Americans – has slammed the brakes on the U.S.
government.”
“They are holding the nation HOSTAGE to appease their
radical left base. This is the DEMOCRATS’ DISASTER,”
the post continued.
Meanwhile, top Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem
Jeffries accused Republicans of lying.
“Republicans JUST VOTED DOWN our bill to avoid a
government shutdown at midnight and address the healthcare needs of the
American people,”
Schumer explained on X.
“Republicans are plunging
us into a government shutdown rather than fixing their healthcare crisis.”
While Trump and Republicans shut down the government
“because they want to take your healthcare away,” Jeffries told Good
Morning America, Democrats are fighting to safeguard healthcare.
Kamala Harris, the former vice president, shared her
thoughts on social media.
“Let me be clear: Republicans are in charge of the White
House, House, and Senate. This is their shutdown.”
Which Cabinet agencies released shutdown contingency plans
first?The Department of Defense put out one of the most detailed
plans, which indicated that around 406,500 out of its total civilian workforce
of 741,500 would continue to work without pay while the remainder would be
furloughed. Similarly, the nation’s nearly 2.1 million military personnel would
continue to report for duty, but would not be compensated until after the
shutdown. The Defense suggested certain operations would be prioritized and
even evaluated, focusing on missions related to border security, military
presence in the Middle East, urgent munitions, and shipbuilding.
For example, some agencies, including the Social Security
Administration and the EPA, had shared their plans on their websites
early.
However, a number of agencies had yet to post an updated
plan on their websites as of late September, including the Departments of
Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, HUD, Interior, State, Transportation, and
Veterans Affairs.
