Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) said Democrats need to “own” the government shutdown as the impasse has now stretched over a month.
Fetterman, one of the few in his party who has broken with Democrats and voted to reopen the government, was asked about the shutdown during a Sunday morning appearance on CNN’s State of the Union. He said it is “deeply distressing” that 42 million people are losing food stamp benefits.
“And now that’s one of the big reasons why I refuse to shutting our government down,” he said. “And again, I feel like the Democrats really need to own the shutdown. I mean, we’re shutting it down.”
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The Senate needs a 60-vote majority of lawmakers to reopen the government, and Democrats have dug their heels in and are demanding the reinstatement of expiring Obamacare subsidies. They are hoping to use the opportunity as leverage to get concessions from the GOP.
Fetterman pointed out that he understood Democrats want to address the expiring tax credits, something he supports, but said he refuses to put 42 million people into “food insecurity.”
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits were put in jeopardy due to the shutdown. The Nov. 1 deadline passed, meaning those benefits didn’t go out, although two judges have ruled that the Trump administration will have to tap into a $5 billion emergency fund to make up for that pause. Still, that $5 billion isn’t enough to cover a full month of SNAP benefits.
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Fetterman said that the government should be reopened in order to help federal workers, many of whom have gone without pay for over a month, as well as SNAP beneficiaries.
“These are the kinds of people — why I’m a Democrat, fighting for people just like that,” Fetterman said. “Now it seems like we’re moving against our core values to keep our government shut down at this point, as now we’re approaching now 33 days.”