Political Quotes

“after a record government shutdown of 41 days and 14 rollcalls failing to reopen it, the situation was clear. Donald Trump and the Senate Republican leadership were unwilling to do anything to reduce skyrocketing health insurance premiums, a terrible problem facing some 24 million American families. The shutdown of the government stopped paychecks for thousands of Federal workers, causing real hardship for their families, including our overworked and understaffed air traffic controllers and many other critical members of the Federal workforce. Food pantries in my State and across the Nation were overwhelmed when President Trump stopped SNAP food payments to 42 million Americans, one-third of whom were children. Food pantries were being overwhelmed as well by unemployed workers who had been laid off or furloughed because of the government shutdown. So a group of Senators sat down to try to find a bipartisan resolution. After lengthy negotiations, an agreement was reached with the Republican Senate leader John Thune. We will agree to reopen the government until January 30, 2026. During that time, we will pass three bipartisan appropriations bills that will fully fund SNAP, WIC, and all the veterans programs and finish our work on the remaining spending bills for this fiscal year. The agreement would also reverse the Trump administration's mass firings during the shutdown and prevent future ones through January 30.”