The GOP strategy to blame the shutdown on Democrats
“In the upside-down political messaging surrounding the shutdown fight, conservative Republicans, usually eager to assail government largess, have transformed themselves into enthusiastic evangelists for federal spending and programs,” says longtime New York Times congressional reporter Carl Hulse. “It is part of a bid by the GOP to maximize the pressure on Democrats, who routinely advocate for government workers and services, to relent in the spending battle.”
The potential for a suspension of the Women, Infants and Children program has attracted particular attention from Republicans, with GOP leaders regularly mentioning the possibility of funds running out for the popular initiative that provides food and other nutrition assistance to millions of lower-income families, Hulse says.
Speaker Mike Johnson said on the Fox Business Channel: “You’re talking about women, infants and children who rely upon these supplemental nutrition programs that are now not being funded and being shut down. They are affecting FEMA services in the middle of the hurricane season.”
Yet Johnson led Republicans this year in pushing through legislation to cut nutrition assistance programs as part of the party’s tax cut law and President Trump has cut FEMA grants during his first months in office, Hulse notes.
Referring to Democrats, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said on Monday: “They own any lapse in funding for critical food aid programs, just as they own every other negative effect of the shutdown.”
So far, Democrats have resisted Republican demands to back a stopgap spending bill that would reopen the government unless it contains additional money for health care programs, “but they’re squirming a bit,” says Hulse. “It is antithetical to their political nature to be in the position of voting against legislation that would get federal workers back on the job.”
Here is a fact check from PolitiFact.
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