GOP lt. governors call on Senate Democrats to avoid shutdown

A group of Republican lieutenant governors drafted a letter to Senate leadership on Tuesday calling on Democrats in the Upper Chamber to pass a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown. 

The letter, first obtained by The Hill, invokes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and a handful of other congressional Democrats’ vote with Republicans last March to keep the government open, as well as 13 clean funding extensions that Congress during the Biden administration. 

“That precedent should be honored now,” the group of lieutenant governors wrote. “There is no path forward for the Democrats’ nearly $1.5 trillion wish list that would give free healthcare for illegal immigrants and cut the single largest investment in rural health care in history–critical funding delivered in the president’s tax legislation that will improve rural health care nationwide.” 

The letter was signed by thirteen lieutenant governors, including Virginia. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R ) and South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette (R ), who are each running for governor in their respective states. Wyoming secretary of state Chuck Gray also signed onto the letter given that the state does not have a lieutenant governor position. 

“Democrats may think they can score points by threatening a shutdown, but the people of South Carolina know better,” Evette said in a statement to The Hill. “Like President Trump, I’ll always put the American people first. It’s time for the Senate Democrats to stop the brinkmanship and do their job.” 

The Senate is slated to vote Tuesday at 5pm on competing Democratic and Republican proposals to fund the government, but both proposals are expected to fail, setting up a government shutdown that would furlough scores of federal workers. 

Democrats have demanded that Medicaid cuts in President Trump’s reconciliation bill passed earlier this year be cut, as well as for an extension to subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. But Republicans have rejected the demands. 

A Morning Consult poll released on Monday found that 45 percent of voters said they would blame Republicans in Congress for a government shutdown, while 32 percent said they would blame Democrats.