BLAME GAME
Complicating efforts to strike a deal is the threat from Trump to turn thousands of the planned furloughs into permanent redundancies, strip funding and slash benefits as he ramps up pressure on the Democrats.
The administration has also been accused of allowing government officials to use partisan language in messaging about the shutdown after the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Tuesday posted a notice on its website blaming the shutdown on the “Radical Left.”
The New York Times reported Friday that some furloughed Education Department staff had noticed their out-of-office email messages being altered without their knowledge to point the finger at Democrats.
“Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of HR 5371 in the Senate, which has led to a lapse in appropriations,” the emails said, according to the Times.
With an announcement on layoffs expected any day, Trump’s budget chief, Russ Vought, is planning to brief Republican senators next week.
The House of Representatives has been in recess, and Republican Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he has been meeting with the president ahead of its return to discuss plans for layoffs.
Johnson accused Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of pushing the shutdown because the veteran New Yorker is “terrified” of left-wing activists grabbing his seat in the 2028 elections.
“Chuck Schumer is a far-left, progressive politician, but he’s not far enough left for this base, and so he’s got to show a fight against the president,” Johnson said.
Source: CNA
