A Schumer shutdown would be devastating for Democrats, and Sen. Lankford has a plan to ensure that Democrats are saddled with the blame if the government shuts down this month.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) are poised to steer their caucuses towards a government shutdown at the end of the month — and new legislation from Sen. James Lankford (R., Okla.) will further clarify to the American people that, should the government shut down, Democrats are to blame.
According to a poll conducted by i360 on behalf of Americans for Prosperity — and obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter — a clear plurality Americans of both parties oppose a government shutdown this September. Seniors in particular are sensitive to a potential shutdown.
48 percent of the 1,064 Americans surveyed across the country oppose a government shutdown, compared to only 26 percent who support one. 24 percent of voters are neutral. Majorities of both Republicans and Democrats outright oppose a shutdown; only libertarians and socialists have majority support.
One potential headache for Schumer and Jeffries is that Democratic Party voters are even more opposed to a shutdown than Republican voters are. “Across the electorate — including base GOP and Democratic voters — shutdowns are viewed as disruptive and unhelpful,” i360 explained in its memo. “Framing a shutdown as leverage is unlikely to resonate beyond narrow ideological fringes.”
Regardless of partisanship, 78 percent of all voters, however, want government reforms as part of a shutdown.
That is where Lankford’s latest legislation comes in. His Prevent Government Shutdowns Act requires lawmakers to stay in session until shutdowns are resolved, provides for essential services to continue in the event of a shutdown, and keeps as much of the government open as possible.
“We have to change the way Washington spends money. Our debt is now more than $37 trillion. Congress cannot keep avoiding the hard choices to fix it,” Lankford explained. “Shutting down the government does not fix the debt problem, it just makes it worse. The best way to finish negotiating the hard issue is to keep Congress in Washington until the budget is finished. That puts the pressure on lawmakers, not on families and important services.”
This legislation is the latest maneuver by Republicans to ensure that voters blame Democrats for the shutdown that Democratic Party leadership seems to be agitating for. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R., Mich.) recently introduced legislation, covered exclusively by the Reporter, to ensure that border patrol agents remain paid during any potential Schumer shutdown as well.
Read the full polling memo from i360 below.