Horsford: Republicans Shut Down the Government They’re Supposed to be Running

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) released the following statement as Congressional Republicans failed to fund the federal government despite having unified control of the House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and the White House.

This marks the first government shutdown since 2018, when Republican majorities in the House and Senate shuttered federal agencies for 34 days during Donald Trump’s first term as president, costing the U.S. economy $8 billion according to the Congressional Budget Office. 

“Republicans were elected to run our government – instead, they just ran it into the ground,” Rep. Horsford said. “Federal services have stopped; federal employees aren’t being paid; and yet another opportunity to protect healthcare for millions of Americans was completely ignored. 

“Nevadans pay their taxes and deserve to get their money’s worth, regardless of which party is in charge,” Horsford continued. “But blanket tariffs, healthcare cuts, and tax hikes were already taking a heavy toll on our state, before this shutdown. My constituents are right to question how any of these policies help them, or how a government shutdown is in anyone’s best interest.

“The concerning truth is this administration and its allies in Congress seem to want this shutdown,” Horsford added. “The same president who fired tens of thousands of federal employees just shuttered the federal government entirely. And the same Congressional Republicans who passed a law cutting healthcare for millions of Americans just cancelled votes rather than working with Democrats to keep more Americans insured. 

“The last time there was a government shutdown was in 2018 when Donald Trump was in the White House and Republicans controlled the House and the Senate,” Horsford said. “Seven years later, we are in another government shutdown with Donald Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of the House and Senate. The pattern is clear.

“My constituents deserve better. Their constituents deserve better. Federal employees deserve better. And our country deserves better.”

Rep. Horsford launched a site page on his website for constituents to receive timely updates on how the government shutdown is impacting them.

More information is available here.