Both parties try to win the ‘blame game’ as government shutdown hits nation
Democrats face pressure from left flank to ‘hold the line’
A sign blaming Democrats for the government shutdown is seen Wednesday outside the Capitol after a Republican-led news conference.
A sign blaming Democrats for the government shutdown is seen Wednesday outside the Capitol after a Republican-led news conference. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
By Mary Ellen McIntire and Daniela Altimari
Posted October 1, 2025 at 7:03pm
The shutdown messaging fight was in full swing Wednesday, as federal agencies ceased operations after funding lapsed at midnight and both parties sought to cast each other as responsible.
The shutdown, which will force hundreds of thousands of federal workers off the job and requires others to work without pay until lawmakers vote to resume appropriations for federal agencies, comes over a year before the midterm elections and prompted quite the blame game in Washington.
“The blame for this reckless decision and the harm it will cause working families rests squarely with the Democrats, and it will cost them their seats next November,” North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson, the chair of House Republicans’ campaign arm, said in a statement.
His Democratic counterpart, Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene, said Republicans “own this government shutdown.”
“Republicans can’t even be bothered to come to the negotiating table, instead they are running scared and refuse to come to D.C. to do their jobs,” she said in a statement.
The House voted two weeks ago, mostly along party lines, to extend federal funding for another seven weeks before departing for a recess. Maine Democrat Jared Golden, one of the chamber’s most vulnerable members, was the only Democrat to vote for the bill. But the measure has not been able to advance in the Senate.
Democrats want to negotiate with Republicans on extending enhanced health insurance subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year, which they argue would cause certain health insurance premiums to spike. But Republicans counter that because the subsidies don’t expire for another three months, they can negotiate separately from a stopgap funding extension and that lawmakers should reopen the government before striking any deal.
Golden, whose largely rural district backed President Donald Trump by 9 points last year, pinned the blame for the shutdown on his party’s left flank.
“This government shutdown is the result of hardball politics driven by the demands far-left groups are making for Democratic Party leaders to put on a show of their opposition to President Trump,” he said on social media Wednesday.
Golden, who faces a tough challenge from former GOP Gov. Paul LePage in 2026, said that he supports extending the tax credits but that Republicans “have reasonable concerns about tax credits going to high-income households.”
rollcall.com
Democrats face pressure from left flank to ‘hold the line’
A sign blaming Democrats for the government shutdown is seen Wednesday outside the Capitol after a Republican-led news conference.
A sign blaming Democrats for the government shutdown is seen Wednesday outside the Capitol after a Republican-led news conference. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
By Mary Ellen McIntire and Daniela Altimari
Posted October 1, 2025 at 7:03pm
The shutdown messaging fight was in full swing Wednesday, as federal agencies ceased operations after funding lapsed at midnight and both parties sought to cast each other as responsible.
The shutdown, which will force hundreds of thousands of federal workers off the job and requires others to work without pay until lawmakers vote to resume appropriations for federal agencies, comes over a year before the midterm elections and prompted quite the blame game in Washington.
“The blame for this reckless decision and the harm it will cause working families rests squarely with the Democrats, and it will cost them their seats next November,” North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson, the chair of House Republicans’ campaign arm, said in a statement.
His Democratic counterpart, Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene, said Republicans “own this government shutdown.”
“Republicans can’t even be bothered to come to the negotiating table, instead they are running scared and refuse to come to D.C. to do their jobs,” she said in a statement.
The House voted two weeks ago, mostly along party lines, to extend federal funding for another seven weeks before departing for a recess. Maine Democrat Jared Golden, one of the chamber’s most vulnerable members, was the only Democrat to vote for the bill. But the measure has not been able to advance in the Senate.
Democrats want to negotiate with Republicans on extending enhanced health insurance subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year, which they argue would cause certain health insurance premiums to spike. But Republicans counter that because the subsidies don’t expire for another three months, they can negotiate separately from a stopgap funding extension and that lawmakers should reopen the government before striking any deal.
Golden, whose largely rural district backed President Donald Trump by 9 points last year, pinned the blame for the shutdown on his party’s left flank.
“This government shutdown is the result of hardball politics driven by the demands far-left groups are making for Democratic Party leaders to put on a show of their opposition to President Trump,” he said on social media Wednesday.
Golden, who faces a tough challenge from former GOP Gov. Paul LePage in 2026, said that he supports extending the tax credits but that Republicans “have reasonable concerns about tax credits going to high-income households.”
Both parties try to win the ‘blame game’ as government shutdown hits nation - Roll Call
The government shutdown comes over a year before the midterm elections and prompted quite the blame game between Democrats and Republicans.
