Washington, D.C. — The federal government shutdown entered its fourth week Sunday as congressional leaders exchanged accusations over who is responsible for the impasse and the hardships facing Americans.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) used national television appearances and op-eds to argue that Democrats have deliberately prolonged the shutdown for political gain, while House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) accused Republicans of causing a healthcare crisis and refusing to negotiate.
Republicans: “Democrats shut the government down”
In interviews on ABC News’ This Week and Fox News’ The Sunday Briefing, Speaker Johnson said the White House and congressional Republicans had offered a “clean continuing resolution” to keep the government open without partisan riders, but that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democrats blocked it.
“They’ve now voted 11 times to block paychecks for troops,” Johnson said, adding that President Trump had to locate “a temporary pot of money to pay the troops” that would soon run dry. “Schumer and the Democrats turned off the revenue streams,” he said, calling the situation “the Democrat shutdown.”
Johnson contrasted the current stalemate with what he called Republican achievements under President Trump: “reduced taxes, reduced regulations to get the economy going again, [and] ending the border crisis.”
Scalise: “Radical leftists cheering the shutdown”
In a Fox News op-ed, Majority Leader Scalise accused Democrats of prioritizing “appeasing their socialist base” over reopening the government. He cited weekend “No Kings” rallies that he described as “Hate America” demonstrations, claiming groups such as MoveOn and the Communist Party USA supported the shutdown to hurt Trump politically.
“Every day, Democrats have made it abundantly clear they care more about appeasing their socialist base than doing right by the American people,” Scalise wrote. He warned that the shutdown has halted pay for federal workers and disrupted programs serving veterans, farmers, small businesses, and low-income families.
Democrats: “Republicans created a healthcare crisis”
On CBS Miami’s Facing South Florida, Leader Jeffries countered that Republicans triggered the shutdown by refusing to negotiate on healthcare and by seeking to let Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits expire.
“Hundreds of thousands of people in South Florida are at risk of seeing their premiums, copays and deductibles skyrocket,” Jeffries said. He accused Republicans of “taking a vacation” during the crisis and of “an all-out assault on the healthcare of the American people.”
Jeffries said Democrats remain united in pushing to reopen the government, extend ACA tax credits, and oppose “the weaponization of the Department of Justice” under President Trump.
Little sign of compromise
The standoff has halted pay for federal employees and slowed key programs ranging from veterans’ benefits to small-business loans. While both parties claim to support reopening the government, neither side has shown willingness to yield: Republicans insist Democrats must first pass the GOP’s short-term spending bill, while Democrats say any deal must address healthcare subsidies and cost-of-living concerns.
For now, the shutdown continues into its 19th day, with millions of Americans caught in the crossfire of Washington’s political split screen.
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