WASHINGTON, D.C. — The federal government shut down at midnight after the Senate fell far short in a vote to stave off the closure. Both parties blamed each other in the chaotic close to Donald Trump’s first year as president. Members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation — all Democrats — issuing statements about the shutdown.
“Governing month to month through short term extensions has the effect of a slow motion shutdown…. There is bipartisan consensus behind every single major issue before us: defense spending, funding for the opioid crisis and pensions, disaster relief, community health centers, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and avoiding mass deportation of Dreamers.
I will continue to call for good faith negotiations, but only Senator McConnell can call these measures for a vote and end this self-inflicted crisis. The President must lead, or get out of the way – because he is wrong in seeking a ‘good shutdown’. There is no good shutdown. We must come together to end it.”
“Republicans asked to be given control of the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. They got it, and this is what America gets – total, complete dysfunction. The continuing resolution President Trump is trying to force down our throats is terrible for Connecticut – it guts funding for community health centers, inadequately funds our state’s military contractors, and may lead to the deportation of thousands of immigrant kids. Instead of punting and passing a fourth continuing resolution, President Trump and Republicans could choose to sit down and write a real budget with Democrats this weekend, but they are refusing.
“For the first time in our history as a nation, our government has shut down while one party controls the White House, the House of Representatives, and the Senate. Only one party has responsibility for this failure to govern: the Republican Party. We have all heard the President try to cast blame for a shutdown on Democrats. I would like to remind the President and the American people that just nine months ago, and President tweeted, “our country needs a good ‘shutdown.’”
“We have gone from stopgap to stopgap without any meaningful attempt from Republicans to work bipartisanly on a long term budget agreement. In the process they’ve failed to adequately fund disaster relief and address the opioid crisis, left the immigration status of 700,000 Dreamers in limbo, and put the health care of millions of kids, including 17,000 in CT at risk. All of these issues that have the support of the majority of the American people and could pass overwhelmingly…. I hope in the coming days we vote on CHIP and DACA on their own, on their merits, and we take the politics out.”
Connecticut’s Governor Dannel Malloy also weighed in on the collapse of talks to fund the government:
“Connecticut has made preparations to mitigate the impacts of the Trump shutdown as much as possible. My office has been in contact with agency heads and contingency plans have been updated. But unless the President and Congressional Republicans do their job, Connecticut residents who work for the federal government will not be paid, contractors will be laid off, and loans to Connecticut small businesses won’t be made.”
And early this morning, President Trump responded on Twitter:
