Government Shutdown Discussion
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday rebuffed ABC host Martha Raddatz’s attempt to attribute the government shutdown to Republicans. The shutdown commenced on October 1 after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer mobilized nearly all Senate Democrats to block a bipartisan funding bill. Raddatz questioned Bessent on “This Week” about the shutdown’s impact and suggested whether the president should engage with Democrats to resolve the situation.
“People are suffering, and federal workers are turning to food banks. Is there light at the end of this tunnel? Should the president meet with Democrats again?” Raddatz inquired.
Bessent didn’t hold back, stating, “Martha, what good does that do? They’ve entrenched themselves. The American people are at the mercy of the polls of Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. The only change since our last clean continuance resolution is that Schumer’s polls have plummeted.” He added, “Those two guys from Brooklyn are worried about primary challenges from the left. Fifty-two Republican senators have voted eleven times to reopen the government, and three courageous moderate Democrats have joined us. So I’m calling on moderate Democratic senators to be heroes and end this madness.”
When Raddatz brought up concerns about the shutdown, Bessent reiterated the Republicans’ control over Washington. “What can we do about this desperate plea for them to change their minds? The $1.5 trillion spending they’re asking for is off the table. We inherited this mess, with the worst budget deficit as a percentage of GDP at 6.4 or 6.5 percent—without a recession or war. We’ve managed to lower it to 5.9 percent, and we won’t allow them to be irresponsible with the budget again.”
The Congressional Budget Office reported that the federal budget deficit is expected to reach 6.4% of GDP in fiscal 2024, marking one of the highest levels in U.S. history during peacetime. The nonpartisan Peter G. Peterson Foundation strives to raise awareness about the nation’s fiscal challenges and noted that this situation persists despite low unemployment rates and stable economic growth.
On Thursday, Democratic Senator John Fetterman from Pennsylvania urged his party to “cut to the chase” and resolve the ongoing government shutdown. He criticized Schumer for withholding pay from federal workers and military personnel and cautioned that the shutdown strategy could backfire as the situation worsens across the nation.
Fetterman, along with two other Democrats, backed a Republican-led bill aimed at ensuring pay for federal workers and military personnel during the shutdown, though it failed to meet the Senate’s 60-vote threshold with most Democrats voting against it.
Democrats maintain that any funding agreement should encompass an extension of expiring Obamacare subsidies along with several other partisan priorities.
