State Department Blasts Democrats for Shutdown Threatening U.S. National Security
The U.S. Department of State, led by Secretary Marco Rubio, criticized congressional Democrats on Monday for prolonging the federal government shutdown, warning that the standoff is undermining national security and restricting vital diplomatic operations, as reported by Fox News.
The government shutdown is approaching its third week, leaving many federal employees with partial pay from the previous period and facing the possibility of missing an entire paycheck in the coming days.
“President Trump is delivering historic peace deal after historic peace deal,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News Digital. “Congressional Democrats are delivering a shutdown that undermines our national security.”
The Senate remains at the center of the funding impasse, where Democrats have insisted that Republicans undo Medicaid policy changes included in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The continuing resolution to reopen the government through late November requires a 60-vote threshold, meaning Democrats would need to break ranks with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to move forward.
“Congressional Democrats have decided to jeopardize our national security with their politically motivated government shutdown,” another State Department official told Fox News Digital.
“Republicans on Capitol Hill are prepared to move forward with a clean continuing resolution, but instead, Democrats are trying to exploit this moment to push their political pet projects like healthcare for illegal immigrants, continuing wasteful COVID payments, and harmful climate extremism.”
Republicans currently hold 53 seats in the Senate, while Democratic Senators John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada have crossed the aisle in some of the previous ten failed attempts to end the shutdown.
“By putting the American people last, Democrats are forcing the American people to have a State Department with limited diplomatic engagement around the world, significantly reduced communications, and disruptions that will impact U.S. foreign policy,” a State Department official added.
“While we will undergo every possible effort to ensure critical missions continue, the Democrats’ obstruction will have serious impacts on the national security interests of the United States.”
The State Department also pointed to statements from former top diplomats under previous Democratic administrations that contradict the party’s current position on shutdowns.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry said during the 2013 shutdown, “A self-inflicted wound, like the shutdown that we just endured, can never happen again. As President Obama said, the shutdown ‘encouraged our enemies, emboldened our competitors, and it depressed our friends who look to us for steady leadership.’”
Former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton also said in 2013 that “the partial government shutdown is emblematic of too many people in politics choosing scorched earth over common ground.”
More recently, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who served under the Biden administration, warned that such shutdowns harm America’s standing globally.
“If we’re serious about U.S. leadership in the world, we can’t keep operating without knowing whether we’ll have a budget for the next fiscal year,” Blinken said during last year’s budget battles.
No date has been confirmed for the next vote on a continuing resolution, though Senate Majority Leader John Thune said additional votes could take place this week.
