If Congress can’t pass a budget by midnight next Tuesday, September 30, the United States government will shut down.

Remember, Republicans control both the House and Senate. And, in pathetic fealty to Donald Trump, they are refusing to work with Democrats at all.

So — ironically — the only thing that can save congressional Republicans from themselves would be if Democrats were to vote for the retrograde MAGA budget, which includes further healthcare cuts on top of the disastrous Medicaid cuts Republicans already pushed through.

To state the obvious, Democrats in Congress should not vote MAGA. And Democrats should not save Republicans from their apparent determination to shut down the federal government or from the resulting wrath of the American people.

A few notes about government shutdowns:

• Historically, we have rightly come to understand that government shutdowns are less than ideal. Thus — even in times of extreme partisanship, some very recent — Democrats and Republicans have generally tried to work together to avoid disruptive and costly shutdowns.

• But, in so many ways, we now find ourselves living in an unprecedented moment. And that includes the reality that the Trump regime has been illegally clawing back money from the previous budget — disregarding the deal negotiated while slashing programs and agencies we all care about. No new budget is worth the paper it’s printed on without binding safeguards to stop these MAGA shenanigans.

• No new budget bill should move forward unless it addresses Americans’ top economic priority, the cost of and access to health care, and prevents further illegal clawbacks of congressionally mandated spending — even if that means letting Republicans cause a government shutdown then forcing them to confront the uncertainty, pain, and betrayal they will have subjected us all to.

Join Public Citizen in a direct message to every Democrat in Congress:

Congressional Republicans seem determined to shut down the federal government and take the blame from the American people for the damage that will ensue. Do not bail your Republican colleagues out. Do not help them pass their disastrous budget. And do not give up your demand that any final budget must address healthcare and must stop illegal impoundments and rescissions.

Click to add your name now.

Thanks for taking action.

For progress,

- Lisa Gilbert & Robert Weissman, Co-Presidents of Public Citizen
 
 
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