Reaction from Georgia’s congressional delegation to the federal government shutdown is breaking sharply along party lines, as Democrats and Republicans blame each other for the funding lapse that took effect at midnight.
Democratic Congresswoman Nikema Williams said health care remains at the center of the standoff and accused Republicans of driving the nation into crisis. “The American people are looking at a health care crisis that is caused by Republicans in Congress,” Williams said, adding that Democrats are ready to negotiate but “won’t be swayed by the president’s threats of mass layoffs.”
She argued that reversing cuts to health care funding is a key factor in passing a budget bill. “It does not have to be this way, but it’s going to take both parties coming together to negotiate. Democrats are here ready, Republicans are nowhere to be found,” she said.
Republican Congressman Rich McCormick, meanwhile, placed blame squarely on Senate Democrats, pointing to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for what he called obstruction. “I think Schumer pinned himself into a corner now because if they back off now he’s going to look kind of silly,” McCormick said. He added that Republicans don’t need to negotiate in “good faith” after winning the White House and both chambers of Congress last year.
McCormick has continued to push for a seven-week short-term spending measure approved by the House, which would fund the government into late November. “This is already a compromise that has been voted on previously,” he said. “They just have nothing else to run on right now.”
President Donald Trump has suggested the shutdown could trigger permanent job losses, casting blame on Democrats. “We may do a lot, and that’s only because of the Democrats,” Trump said. “They want to be able to take care of people that are coming into our country illegally, and no system can handle that.”
The shutdown is already straining federal programs and services across the country, and while the impact in Georgia remains unclear, both Williams and McCormick said their constituent services would continue uninterrupted.
With no immediate compromise in sight, uncertainty looms over how long the government will remain closed and what it will take to reach a resolution.
