Overwhelming Majority of Americans Oppose Democrats Shutting Down the Government

The White House is reprimanding Democrats for shutting down the government even though it’s unpopular with the vast majority of Americans.

Sixty-five percent of Americans say the government should not be shut down even if Democrats’ demands are not met, according to a new New York Times-Siena poll. This includes 43% of Democrats and 59% of independents.

“The overwhelming majority of Americans do not support a Democrat-led government shutdown,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told The Daily Signal. “Yet Democrats are still insistent on shutting down the government over their $1.5 trillion wish list of far-left demands, like paying for health care for illegal aliens.”

Democrats are demanding Republicans codify an extension of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, subsidies enacted under the $1.9 trillion Biden-era coronavirus stimulus plan. The Inflation Reduction Act continued the subsidies, but they will expire if Congress does not extend the enhanced subsidies.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said the subsidies would cost $1.5 trillion over the next decade.

If the Senate doesn’t pass a continuing resolution to fund the government by midnight Wednesday, the government will shut down, leading to federal employees not being paid, as well as interruptions in some government services.

Republicans will require at least seven Democrat votes in the Senate in order to end debate and bring the stopgap funding bill to the floor, which would itself buy less than two months for more long-term negotiations.

After leaving a meeting with President Donald Trump and Republican congressional leaders Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., suggested the two sides were not much closer to a deal, citing “very large differences” on the matters of health care and the president’s ability to unilaterally cut funding.

“It is time for the Democrats to do the right thing and prioritize the needs of the American people instead of playing harmful political games,” Rogers said.