President Donald Trump had a fresh warning for Democrats as the government shutdown entered its third week with lawmakers failing to overcome an impasse regarding Democratic efforts to protect health care for the millions of Americans insured under the Affordable Care Act.
“The Democrats are getting killed on the shutdown because we’re closing up programs that are Democrat programs that we were opposed to,” Trump said Tuesday. “We’re not closing up Republican programs because we think they work.”
The Trump administration has also fired over 4,100 federal workers since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, the Justice Department said in a court filing. A federal judge has since ordered the administration to pause the firings.
Earlier this week, Trump traveled to the Middle East to promote his role in a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the two-year Gaza war.
While the U.S. president told reporters the “war is over,” lasting peace will depend on a series of challenging decisions for Trump, while early cracks are already starting to emerge.
