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.