Former Vice President Harris said Democrats are “doing the right thing” by holding firm on their demands amidst the government shutdown.
Senate Democrats have blocked a stopgap bill from advancing 10 times in an effort to extend Affordable Care Act premium subsidies.
Harris said Democrats “are doing the right thing by standing up for working people and not allowing the Republicans to carry a tax cut for the wealthiest people in our country on the backs of working people in America,” in an interview published Saturday by The Associated Press.
She blamed her counterparts over the federal funding lapse, which has spanned into its 18th day, as back pay for furloughed federal workers is threatened and the economy begins to feel a negative impact from the shuttering.
The Trump administration is actively taking steps to redistribute funds to ensure the military gets paychecks during the shutdown. FBI agents and some Department of Homeland Security employees are expected to receive paychecks as well.
“The Republicans control the House. They control the Senate. They control the White House,” Harris told AP. “They are in charge, and they are responsible for the shutdown.”
Amid closures, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is preparing to bring a full-year spending bill for the Pentagon to the floor as the shutdown extends to the three-week mark.
The 2024 Democratic presidential nominee says she remains in contact with former colleagues on Capitol Hill and has spent the last month touring American cities during the promotion of her “107 Days” book about her failed presidential bid.
“I am a leader of the party,” she said. “I take seriously that responsibility and duty that I feel.”
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