White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sharply criticized Democrats on Wednesday, blaming them for what she called a “reckless and damaging government shutdown” that has disrupted the lives of millions of Americans.
“The damage caused by Democrats with this reckless shutdown cannot be forgotten,” Leavitt said during a press briefing, adding that an estimated 5.2 million travellers have had their journeys disrupted as a result of the political standoff.
The shutdown — now the longest in U.S. history — has caused widespread delays at airports, temporary furloughs for federal workers, and interruptions in key public services.
Republican officials argue that Democrats are prioritizing political gamesmanship over national stability, while Democrats accuse the Trump administration of refusing to negotiate in good faith.
00:00The Democrats dragged on the government shutdown for 43 days, the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
00:07But tonight, thanks to Republicans, the White House is very hopeful that this shutdown is going to come to an end.
00:15The damage caused by the Democrats with this reckless government shutdown cannot be forgotten.
00:20It is entirely the fault of the Democrat Party. Just look at the vote count.
00:25Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have missed their paychecks.
00:28Tens of billions in wages and benefits were withheld, impacting vulnerable families.
00:34Millions of low-income Americans missed their SNAP benefits.
00:37Nearly 20,000 flights at airports across the country were delayed due to staffing shortages,
00:43causing Americans to miss family events, vacations, and work obligations.
00:47According to Airlines for America, an estimated 5.2 million travelers have had their flights disrupted over the course of the Democrat shutdown.
00:57And our economy has lost billions and billions of dollars in economic activity over the course of this shutdown,
01:04hurting consumer sentiment and crushing the travel and hospitality industries.
01:09According to a CBO estimate, the Democrat shutdown could end up decreasing fourth-quarter economic growth by two whole percentage points.
01:18The Democrat shutdown made it extraordinarily difficult for economists, investors, and policymakers at the Federal Reserve to receive critical government data.
01:29The Democrats may have permanently damaged the federal statistical system with October CPI and jobs reports likely never being released.
01:37And all of that economic data released will be permanently impaired, leaving our policymakers at the Fed flying blind at a critical period.
01:47It's hard to recap all of this without asking a simple question.
01:50Why?
01:51Why have the Democrats put the American people through this pain for 43 days in a row?
01:57And it feels like Groundhog Day being up here again talking about this Democrat shutdown.
02:02And the answer to that question is pure partisan politics.
02:06They started this shutdown with a ridiculous demand to force taxpayer-funded health care benefits to illegal aliens who broke into our country.
02:15Even after it was clear President Trump and Republicans would never force American taxpayers to pay for free health care for illegals,
02:22In fact, President Trump's one big, beautiful bill fixed that problem.
02:26The Democrats kept dragging this reckless government shutdown on for weeks longer to boost their turnout in an election, perhaps one may guess.
02:35That's because the Democrats are totally captured by their far left-wing base,
02:39who only care about attacking President Trump, even if it means hurting innocent Americans in our country.
02:46The Democrats' weakness and their unwillingness to buck the fringe members of their party dragged this harmful shutdown on for seven weeks
02:54and inflicted massive pain onto the American public.
02:58But let's be clear.
02:59The clean CR being voted on today in the House of Representatives that will lead to the reopening of the federal government
03:06is what President Trump and Republicans have supported from day one.
03:11Our troops, air traffic controllers, and federal employees will be back to receiving their regular paychecks.
03:18Families in need will get back to receiving their food purchasing assistance,
03:21and the people's government will soon be back open for business.
03:25President Trump looks forward to finally ending this devastating Democrat shutdown with his signature,
03:32and we hope that signing will take place later tonight.
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