The White House has urged Americans to hold Democrats to account for the United States government shutdown, after Congress failed to extend federal funding.
The Democrats insist the Republicans are culpable, with former Vice President Kamala Harris declaring that President Donald Trump and his party members are responsible for the episode.
“Republicans are in charge of the White House, House, and Senate. This is their shutdown”, the 2024 presidential candidate wrote in a post on X on Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, a White House statement noted that the full-blown government shutdown was “engineered by the Radical Left lunatics who control their party.”
The statement said the situation affects food assistance for low-income women, infants, and children, while Americans will experience travel delays and disruptions to Social Security services.
The president’s office lamented the suspension of funding for inpatient home care and telehealth services for Medicare patients, as the effects of the shutdown ripple across economic sectors.
“Republicans will not be held hostage by this unserious, shameful political gamesmanship by Democrats,” the White House asserted.
The statement added that the government shutdown is “100% on Democrats, whose radical agenda is poisoning our politics and punishing our people.”
The Trump administration argued that Democrats’ proposal would result in about $200 billion spent on healthcare for illegal immigrants and other non-citizens over the next decade.
US government shutdown: White House blames Democrats, Harris faults Trump