The first day of the federal government shutdown was marked by finger-pointing — and lots of it.
Republicans sought to put the blame on Democrats, who rejected the majority's short-term spending bill to keep the government running. Democrats rejected the plan because it didn't respond to their demands to reverse Medicaid cuts and restore health insurance subsidies.
Republicans have said they'll negotiate on the health care funding later.
Using the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop, Gov. Kathy Hochul and other Democratic state leaders in New York didn’t mince words when talking about the shutdown.
"One word. It sucks," Hochul said. "This is wrong. This is wrong.”
In a statement, Rep. Joe Morelle, D-Irondequoit, called the shutdown the result of a "brutal and incompetent administration." He also said that Republicans in Congress are too afraid of President Donald Trump to fight for their constituents.
“My Democratic colleagues and I will support a spending plan that cancels cuts, lowers costs, and protects healthcare," Morelle's statement read. "I won't support another short-term ‘fix’ to an already broken budget.”
Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-New Hartford, Oneida County, saw it differently.
“House Republicans did our job,” she said in a statement, adding: “Democrats chose political theater.”
She went on to assert that Democrats "are demanding a reckless $1.5 trillion partisan spending spree,” restating the false claim that the Democrats’ bill would "bankroll healthcare for illegal immigrants.” Undocumented immigrants and many legal immigrants are ineligible for most federal benefits.
The Democrats’ bill would restore Obamacare subsidies for some “lawfully present” immigrants. She also said the Democrats' demand would result in “handing $500 million to liberal media outlets” as they seek to return $491 million to public broadcasting that Republicans rescinded this summer.
That recission included a $1.9 million cut to WXXI Public Media.
During her own news conference, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, said there needs to be bipartisan negotiations to lower health care costs and reopen the government.
"This is entirely on them," Gillibrand said. "It's not government by fiat. The Republicans, it's not their way or the highway. They're supposed to be working on a bipartisan basis.”
Deputy Editor Jeremy Moule and Investigations and Enterprise Editor Brian Sharp contributed to this story.
