Trump cites record shutdown as cause of Republicans’ election setbacks

#Trump #cites #record #shutdown #Republicans #election #setbacks

U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged that the Democrats’ electoral victory reflected growing challenges for Republicans, attributing the disappointing results to a record-breaking government shutdown that is now in its sixth week.

His comments came hours after Democratic candidates Abigail Spanberger and Mickey Sherrill won commanding governorships in Virginia and New Jersey, while Zoharan Mamdani easily defeated Trump-backed Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayoral race.

In Virginia, Democrat Jay Jones also won the attorney general race from 2022 after overcoming a scandal.

Trump made the statement while addressing GOP senators at a White House breakfast Wednesday morning. Trump reflected on the results, saying it had not been a positive night for anyone.

The US president said: “We had an interesting evening, and we learned a lot, and we’re going to talk about it,” CNBC reported.

He attributed the Republican setbacks in part to the prolonged government shutdown, finding pollsters to be “a big factor, a negative, for Republicans.” Trump added that some analysts considered his absence from the ballot to be the biggest factor.

Trump has accused Democrats of being out to destroy the country as the government shutdown on Wednesday became the longest in history, eclipsing the record of 35 days during the Republican leader’s first term.

Federal agencies have been stalled since Congress failed to approve funding on Sept. 30, and the pain is mounting as welfare programs — including aid that helps millions of Americans afford groceries — hang in the balance.

About 1.4 million federal workers, from air traffic controllers to park wardens, are on enforced leave or working without pay. Some courts are using emergency funds to stay open, warning that operations could slow if the shutdown continues.

Hours before a record shutdown hit at midnight, the Trump administration sounded the alarm over unrest at airports across the country if the crisis drags on into November, with worsening staff shortages snarling airports and closing swathes of airspace.

Thanksgiving air travel is expected to set a new record this year, with the American Automobile Association (AAA) predicting that 5.8 million people are set to fly domestically during the Nov. 27 holiday.

More than 60,000 air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers are working without pay, and the White House has warned that increased absenteeism could mean chaos at check-in lines.

Airport workers calling in sick rather than work without pay — causing significant delays — was a major factor in Trump ending the 2019 shutdown.

Both Democrats and Republicans are unmoved, however, on health care spending at the current sticking point.

‘Defense’

Democrats say they will only provide the votes to end the funding gap to end insurance subsidies that have been affected to increase insurance subsidies that make health care affordable for millions of Americans.

But Republicans insist they will only focus on health care once Democrats vote to turn the lights back on in Washington.

While the leadership of both parties has shown little appetite for compromise, there are signs of life on the backbenches, with a handful of moderate Democrats working to find an escape hatch.

A separate bipartisan group of four centrist House members unveiled a compromise framework Monday to lower health insurance costs.

Democrats believe millions of Americans seeing skyrocketing premiums when they enroll in health insurance programs next year will pressure Republicans to compromise.

But Trump stood by his refusal to negotiate, telling CBS News in an interview that aired Sunday that he “will not be deported.”

The president has tried to apply his pressure to force Democrats to cave in by threatening mass layoffs of federal workers and using the shutdown to target progressive priorities.

Trump on Tuesday repeated his administration’s threat to cut a key aid program that helps 42 million Americans pay for groceries for the first time in more than 60 years, even though the move was blocked by two courts.

However, the White House later clarified that it was “fully complying” with its legal obligations and was working in part to get Snap Payments out “as best we can and as quickly as we can.”