Patty Murray: “we are now on week four of Republicans insisting that they would rather keep the government shut down than talk about…”

“we are now on week four of Republicans insisting that they would rather keep the government shut down than talk about how we can stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing. In a sign of how serious Republicans are taking all this, House Republicans are still not even here. They are still on a vacation that has now lasted over a month. Senate Republican leaders are still refusing to sit down with us and do anything other than pull the same failed vote on their partisan bill over and over and over. President Trump is gloating and lying about having more power than ever. He is illegally mass firing people who do important work for the American people. He is illegally hacking away at 'Democratic' programs, and he is tweeting out more lies and truly obscene videos. Let's be clear. President Trump does not have to fire people and slash funding. He didn't do any of this during the last shutdown he caused. Instead, Trump is choosing to cause pain and chaos because he wants to use the American people as leverage. Meanwhile, he is doing nothing about the fact that millions of Americans--the majority in red States, by the way--are about to see their premiums double. Open enrollment starts next week. In fact, it already began in Idaho. And where are the Republicans? They are on week 4 of sticking their heads in the sand. Again, House Republicans are not even here. But, in a shock to no one, Republicans' ignoring reality has done nothing to change it.”