D.C. Democrats may have successfully blocked a government funding bill and forced a shutdown, but back in the Granite State, there are questions about whether local Democrats can call it a win.
Around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, the GOP’s seven-week stopgap funding bill, aka the “clean CR,” was blocked in the Senate when 45 Democrats, including Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen, voted against it.
Thanks to support from three Democrats, Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-N.M.), and Maine’s Angus King (an independent who caucuses with the Democrats), the CR received 55 votes. But it needs 60 to pass under Senate rules.
With Reps. Maggie Goodlander and Chris Pappas having cast “no” votes in the House, all four Granite State Democrats voted to allow the government to shutdown rather than support a short-term spending extension.
According to the latest polls, Democrats didn’t do themselves any favors.
Asked whether “the Democrats should or should not shut down the government if their demands are not met,” 65 percent of respondents in a New York Times/Siena College poll said no. Just 27 percent said yes. Independent voters opposed the Democrats’ decision by a nearly 2-1 margin (59 percent no, 32 percent yes).
So why do it? Perhaps because that same poll showed Democrats — in particular the party’s progressive, leftwing base — backed a shutdown 47 to 43 percent.
NYTimes/Siena poll
Republicans immediately called out Granite State Democrats over their shutdown support,
“Chuck Schumer and the entire Democrat Party are holding the federal government hostage in a ridiculous attempt to force their woke wish list on Americans,” said NRSC Regional Press Secretary Samantha Cantrell. “Despite supporting continuing resolutions in the past, Chris Pappas voted to shut the government down in the House of Representatives, and there is no question he would support Schumer’s shutdown if elected to the Senate. Democrats are putting critical government services and pay for service members on hold just to give illegal aliens free healthcare.”
In a statement released earlier in the day, Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte assured Granite Staters her administration was prepared for any shutdown fallout, while taking a not-too-subtle jab at D.C. politics.
“Our state is prepared in the event of a federal government shutdown and expects minimal impact on services for Granite Staters in the short-term,” Ayotte said. “State agency heads have assured us that within the next 30 days, operations will continue as normal. In New Hampshire, we put together a responsible, balanced budget every two years — leaders in Washington should take a page out of our playbook and put the needs of families over partisan dysfunction.”
In a sign they see the potential for damaging political fallout, New Hampshire’s Democrats went on defense Tuesday, insisting that it was Republicans who shut down the government. Pappas released a video of himself sitting at his desk in Washington, D.C.
“I’m here in Washington, ready to do my job. Republicans in Congress need to show up and do theirs,” Pappas posted. He did not mention that the House had already passed the continuing resolution over his objections.
Hassan also blamed Republicans, despite her vote against the clean CR, because they rejected a Democratic proposal to spend $335 billion to continue COVID-era expanded subsidies for higher earners in the Obamacare system. An earlier version of the Democrats’ CR would have added nearly $1.5 trillion in new spending.
“The American people want to be able to afford health care, and they want to keep the federal government open. I voted today for a bill that would have done both. Unfortunately, President Trump and Congressional Republicans refused to work across the aisle and instead chose to shut the government down,” Hassan claimed.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has already said Republicans are prepared to negotiate on more Obamacare spending after the government is funded.
But it was Goodlander’s attempt to mitigate the damage that raised the most eyebrows.
“I came to Congress to serve the people of my state and our nation, including thousands of federal public servants across New Hampshire – from servicemembers to TSA agents to air traffic controllers,” the first-term congresswoman posted. “I cannot accept my salary as a Member of Congress while federal public servants are at risk of going without paychecks and paying the price of a senseless shutdown.”
Republicans were quick to note that Goodlander is a scion of Nashua’s wealthy Tamposi family. According to her financial disclosures, she has a trust fund worth tens of millions of dollars and holds an interest in a shopping center, a golf course, and a spa and fitness center. Giving up a few days’ worth of pay won’t impact her, critics note.
Another challenge for the all-Democrat delegation: explaining why they voted repeatedly for continuing resolutions in the past but are shutting down the government now.
“In 2021, 2022, and 2023, when Joe Biden was President, Chris Pappas voted in favor of continuing resolutions to keep the government open and working for the American people,” the NRSC pointed out in a statement.
“Democrats are holding the government hostage for radical demands that include $1.5 trillion in new spending, funding free healthcare for illegal immigrants, and cutting $50 billion in funding for rural hospitals provided by the Working Family Tax Cuts.”
