(KRON) — As the partial federal government shutdown began late Friday night, local lawmakers began to chime in on the turn of events, calling the shutdown “a political stunt”, “a crisis” and “completely avoidable.”
In a tweet, Sen. Kamala Harris said, “Let’s be clear: this shutdown was completely avoidable. The White House created this crisis. Americans and hundreds of thousands of federal employees whose future paychecks are now uncertain deserve a bipartisan solution to re-open the government.”
Earlier in the day, Harris emphasized the consequences of a government shutdown — saying Americans have bills to pay and gifts to buy amid the holiday season. Because of the shutdown, more than 400,000 federal employees will work without pay, while another 380,000 will be furloughed, forced to stay at home without a paycheck.
Rep. Mike Thompson condemned the president’s pride in shutting down the federal government.
“No public servant should ever take pride in harming the economy or shirking their duty to solve our nation’s most pressing problems,” the congressman said in a statement. “Today the President forced a shutdown all to pander to the most extreme wing of his base for a wall that won’t keep our nation any safer. This is a disgrace.”
Thompson reiterated that the president needs to find a solution to the shutdown.
Governor-elect Gavin Newsom also expressed dissatisfaction with the shutdown, mirroring Sen. Harris’ sentiment, calling the shutdown avoidable.
Rep. Jackie Speier was critical of the president’s obsession with border security funding, saying the $5.7 billion the president is asking for would be a waste of taxpayer’s money.
“This is a Trump Shutdown and a political stunt designed to appeal to the President’s extreme base, creating convenient confusion and chaos given his impending legal calamities. The President has yet to spend the $1.3 billion Congress has already approved for border security, and instead is obsessed with wasting $5.7 billion for an ineffective border wall that would be a waste of taxpayer dollars.” the congresswoman said in a statement.
The president is asking for more than $5 billion in funding for a U.S. – Mexico border wall — the primary point of contention for Democrats.
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