Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer on Wednesday sharply accused Democrats of breaking “their contract with taxpayers” by refusing to reopen the federal government and asserted on Newsmax that the shutdown is stalling key economic momentum.
“All of the momentum, all of the investments that the president has done with our fair trade practices, with our tariff revenue, all of that comes to a screeching halt and the momentum stops for the American people,” Chavez-DeRemer told “American Agenda,” warning that crucial programs like her department’s Make America Skilled Again grants will be suspended, depriving Americans of training and businesses of skilled workers.
“You don’t negotiate appropriations and policy during a shutdown,” she said. “That is the one tenet that elected leaders have, and that’s to keep the government open. That’s what they’re elected to do, to have the government work for them.
“The contract from taxpayers has been broken, and it has been broken by these Democrats.”
Chavez-DeRemer framed the impasse as a political stall tactic, criticizing Democrat demands such as healthcare extensions for illegal immigrants that she said detract from serving Americans. She urged colleagues across the aisle to “open up this government and then get back to the negotiations that the American people deserve.”
On the question of layoffs, she maintained the Department of Labor hasn’t yet furloughed staff. Still, she warned that “every day that goes by, those decisions become harder and harder to juggle” as funding pressures increase.
“And that’s up to the president, the executive team, certainly the Office of Management and Budget,” she said. “And they’re all in consultation together because they’re trying to find every ounce of energy and focus and dollars to fund our military, to fund our law enforcement, essential services that have to remain open.
“But every day makes it harder and harder. And those Democrats have to understand that they’re answering to the far left, radical part of their party, and they need to get back to the table, have a common-sense approach, open up this government and get the American people back to work.”
Wednesday marked the 15th day of the shutdown, which began Oct. 1. Senate Democrats have repeatedly blocked passage of a House-backed stopgap funding bill that would keep the government open through Nov. 21 by preventing it from reaching the 60-vote threshold needed to advance.
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