ICYMI: Democratic Leaders Slam Donald Trump and Republicans for Shutting Down the Government Arrow

This week, state party leaders across the country slammed Donald Trump and Republicans for shutting down the government because they refuse to stop premiums from doubling for Americans across the country.

Democrats are united in our fight to cancel Trump's health care cuts, lower costs, and protect health insurance for working families who have struggled under the weight of Trump's disastrous economy.

Here are some of the highlights:

In Michigan:

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel: "We have a real crisis that's going to happen with people's health care here. And when you see the premiums that are about to skyrocket for American citizens, that all of our health care costs will go up, that we are at risk of having hospitals shut down, especially in rural areas in our state, somebody has to stand up and fight back for the American people. And so I'm proud that Democrats are standing up and saying: enough is enough. You don't get to give tax cuts to billionaires and pay for it on the backs of the rest of us with our healthcare costs."

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel: "House Democrats were all there yesterday, and Republicans were back somewhere else. I mean, it's hard to solve a problem when you don't even show up to work. I mean, we saw Tom Barrett sitting at a restaurant here in Lansing, while he should have been actually in D.C., trying to hammer this out. In my opinion, this is very simple. John James, Tom Barrett, even Mike Rogers, who has been out there supporting this, cut money for health care for people, are going to increase premiums on people across the state at huge numbers to give tax cuts to billionaires. We said no, and we're not going to continue down this path of supporting a policy that will hurt people while they give tax decreases to the most rich people in America. And somebody at some point, Democrats got to stand up and say no, and I'm proud the Democrats are actually standing up to actually fight for people, to fight for their health care, to fight for lower premiums."

In Georgia:

Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Charlie Bailey: "Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Charlie Bailey is going after Georgia Republicans on Capitol Hill with this new budget. Democratic lawmakers say they're to restore Affordable Care Act subsidies that were taken away in the big beautiful bill Republicans passed in July. So far, Republicans have not budged on the cuts in negotiations without the subsidies. Bailey says 1.4 million Georgians will see their monthly health care premiums rise. Bailey adds that a shutdown could be equally devastating. According to the Georgia Department of Labor, the state has roughly 111,000 federal workers."

Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Charlie Bailey: "I could say the moon is made of green cheese, don't make it so. You know, it's not true that illegal immigrants and undocumented folks get Medicaid and Medicare, ACA subsidies. It's just not true."

In Pennsylvania:

Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale: "While Governor Shapiro has made it clear that the Commonwealth will be prepared and his administration is doing everything possible to deal with this shutdown and support the people of Pennsylvania, Donald Trump and his allies are selling out working families and making it even harder to get by."

In Texas:

Texas State Representative Vince Perez: "When we look at the cuts that are being proposed to health care, that's also going to have a major impact on our economy, when folks aren't going to the doctor, or they can no longer afford health care. … Close to 50,000 people could lose health care coverage. You could have close to 100,000 El Pasoans that could see a significant increase in their health care. So we have a lot of people here in our community that could potentially lose health care coverage or spend significantly more."

In Utah:

Utah Democratic Party Chair Brian King: "I've been really surprised by the degree to which Republican leadership, from President Trump on down in Congress, have been unwilling to meet with and unwilling to negotiate with and just talk to the Democratic leaders about how they can avoid a shutdown. Trump and his folks seem to relish this idea. I mean, they look forward to this, it seems to me, because, as is becoming more clear in the last couple of days, I think they see this as an opportunity to carry out more DOGE-ing, you know, to make more government cuts, and so I think they feel this is a political winner. I think they're misjudging this. I think people are going to recognize that this government shutdown is much more the responsibility of the Republican leadership in Congress than in the White House, than it is the Democrats.'"

In Tennessee:

Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Rachel Campbell: "Families shouldn't have to choose between putting food on the table or taking their child to a doctor."

In Minnesota:

DNC Vice Chair and Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb: "I still remain optimistic. I still believe our founding fathers and mothers handed us a beautiful experiment, and that is called democracy, and that we have a responsibility to everyday life."