Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., told Newsmax on Saturday that Democrats have “had the opportunity to do the right thing” but “refused to do it,” accusing them of deliberately prolonging the federal government shutdown for political gain while people face food insecurity ahead of the holidays.
As the government shutdown stretched into its 32nd day, Mackenzie criticized Democrats for blocking funding measures that could have reopened the government and restored essential services. He accused Democratic leadership, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., of putting “party before people” while families struggle to make ends meet.
“Well, it is very clear that the Democrats are playing politics with the American people and their livelihoods,” Mackenzie told “The Count.” “Unfortunately, we have seen them in the Senate under Chuck Schumer vote 13 times against funding the government and getting us back on track here.”
Mackenzie emphasized that the House had already acted to fund key programs months earlier.
“We in the House voted to fund programs like SNAP, WIC, Head Start, all of those different programs, and pay our military, our TSA agents, air traffic controllers back on September 19th,” he said. “So this is a long time that they’ve had the opportunity to do the right thing. They refused to do it, and they’re very transparent about it.”
The congressman pointed to statements by Democratic leaders as evidence of political calculation.
“We saw Katherine Clark, the whip on the Democrat side in the House, say that they were doing this for leverage,” Mackenzie said. “Chuck Schumer said it gets better every day that the government is shut down. That is not accurate.”
President Donald Trump said in a social media post that it would be his honor to release emergency funds so “people wouldn’t go hungry,” underscoring his intent to use roughly $5 billion in contingency funds after two federal judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts ruled on the administration’s authority to do so.
Mackenzie described the consequences of the prolonged shutdown as “heartbreaking,” citing growing strain on families and community programs. “What we see is that people are suffering still from Bidenflation and high prices that have compounded over the last four years,” he said. “And they need food assistance, they need certain benefits.”
He warned that the effects were reaching his own district, where programs and charities risk closure.
“What is happening right now is heartbreaking to see places like a Head Start in my district potentially have to close because of this funding, to see the shelves at our food banks running empty, because they won’t provide this funding from the federal government,” Mackenzie said.
“The Democrats know what they’re doing. It’s very callous. It’s very calculated as well,” he concluded. “And so they have no qualms telling people that they are shutting this down for their own political benefits. And it all stems from the resistance left and their opposition to Donald Trump.”
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