As the government shut down continued on Wednesday, with essential government employees working without pay for the 16th straight work day, some Democrat lawmakers were not bashful about explaining their strategy.
“Shutdowns are terrible and of course there will be, you know, families that will suffer,” acknowledged Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), the House Minority Whip, during an interview, Wednesday. “We take that responsibility very seriously but it is one of the few leverage times we have.”
President Trump’s “rapid response” team responded on X: “These people are SICK!”
Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) has also made clear that causing pain and suffering is a large part of the Democrats’ shutdown strategy.
“They [Republicans] have had months to negotiate,” Sanders said in a recent interview. “You reopen the government and we lose our leverage,” he added. “There has to be an agreement right now—That’s what this whole shutdown is about.”