Democrats Threatening Government Shutdown?

Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) said on Sunday he’s prepared to shut down the government in an attempt to stop President Trump from downsizing the government.

“You have to look at what the Trump administration is doing right now. They are simply trying to dismantle the government,” Kim said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“So yes, if we have to take steps to be able to hold them accountable, use the leverage that we have to force it, I cannot support efforts that will continue this lawlessness that we’re seeing when it comes to this administration’s actions,” he continued.

“For us to be able to support government funding in that way only for them to turn it around to dismantle the government, that is not something that should be allowed,” he added.

“Just to be clear, Senator, you are open to voting yes to shut down the government to make this point?” Kristen Welker asked the Democratic senator.

“This is on them. This is about whether or not they can get the votes. They are the majority. And if they cannot govern then, you know, that’s for the American people to see,” he responded.

“I’ve worked in government. I’ve worked through multiple government shutdowns. I would be the last person to want to get to that stage. But we are at a point where we are basically on the cusp of a constitutional crisis seeing this administration taking steps that are so clearly illegal. And until we see a change in that behavior we should not allow and condone that, nor should we assist in that,” he said.

“Don’t threaten us with a good time, Senator!” journalist Nick Sortor commented.

WATCH:

JUST IN: Democrat Sen. Andy Kim says he is ready to SHUT DOWN the federal government over Trump’s recent actions

Don’t threaten us with a good time, Senator! pic.twitter.com/hyJatR3dgn

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 9, 2025

From the New York Post:

The Garden State Democrat was alluding to Trump’s efforts to transform the government via executive powers, which critics in Congress argue is overstepping his authority under the separation of powers principles in the Constitution.

For instance, the Trump administration has recently attempted to fold the US Agency for International Development into the State Department. Some of those efforts have been halted by the courts.

Trump has tapped Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) boss Elon Musk to effectively take a wrecking ball to the federal bureaucracy, which has alienated Democrats.

Democrats have been on the other side of government shutdown fights in recent years, as Republicans have used them to leverage concessions.

Now they feel the tables have turned. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has also teased plans to leverage the shutdown fight.

“I have made clear to House Republican leadership that any effort to steal taxpayer money from the American people, end Medicaid as we know it or defund programs important to everyday Americans, as contemplated by the illegal White House Office of Management and Budget order, must be choked off in the upcoming government funding bill, if not sooner,” Jeffries wrote in a letter to colleagues earlier this month.

The last major government shutdown took place in late 2018 and spilled into 2019 during a fight over Trump’s demands for border wall funding. That shutdown lasted 35 days.

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A Democratic senator said that he and his fellow Democrats are open to shutting down the government in March if President Donald Trump’s recent actions in slimming down the federal government aren’t halted.

“I cannot support efforts that will continue this lawlessness that we’re… pic.twitter.com/ObqxrREgHs

— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) February 9, 2025

Democratic NJ Sen. Andy Kim threatens government shutdown to foil Trump and Musk’s effort to gut spending: ‘This is on them’ https://t.co/ybABvKfsGm pic.twitter.com/pHHrKXcFG8

— New York Post (@nypost) February 9, 2025

POLITICO reports:

Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Friday morning that Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries “seemed to be trying to set up some sort of a government shutdown.”

“We have been negotiating in good faith, trying to get a top-line number. But so far as I know, they’ve been unresponsive the past two days or so,” Johnson said.

The speaker weighed in as anxieties are spiking about the coming March 14 deadline for extending government funding. Democrats have grown wary about cutting a deal with Republicans as President Donald Trump and his ally Elon Musk move swiftly to unilaterally cut agency funding

Top appropriators have been negotiating in recent weeks about a top-line spending number — a necessary first step toward passing funding for the remainder of fiscal 2025. The chair of the House Appropriations Committee, in fact, said Friday — contra Johnson — that those talks are ongoing.

“That’s not true, he doesn’t know that,” Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said when asked about Johnson’s comment. “I mean, we heard [from Democrats] yesterday.”

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The top Democrat on the panel, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (R-Conn.), said much the same Friday: “The speaker is mistaken. No one has walked away from the table. We sent them an offer yesterday. He should give Chairman Cole a call for a status update.”

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.

View the original article here.