Friend – as of 12 a.m. ET today, the government has officially shut down.

Meanwhile, House Republicans are on vacation, Senate Republicans just forced another vote on a bill they knew wouldn't pass, and the president is posting vulgar AI deepfakes and bold-faced lies on social media.

Why? Because Trump and the GOP would rather let the government shut down than work with Democrats to fix the health care crisis they created.

Thanks to Republican inaction and their nonstop attacks on health care, premiums on the ACA marketplace are set to more than DOUBLE in 2026. One family paying $278 a month on average for their health insurance will pay as much as $1,800 per month by next year.

So if it seems like the only sentence Republicans say consists of a noun, verb, and "illegal immigrant," it's because they have to resort to straight-up lies to distract from the reality of their God-awful health care policies. 

Their health care cuts – to the tune of over $1 TRILLION – are already hurting millions of American citizens. Hospitals are already laying off staff and closing down nationwide. Millions will soon be kicked off their health care plans.

So Donald Trump, JD Vance, and the rest of their party can lie all they like.  But they can't stop people from getting those letters in the mail telling them how much more their premiums will cost next year.

And with your contribution of any amount today, we can send the GOP a message LOUD and CLEAR that their Senate majority is on track to flip blue if they don't start working with us to fix this crisis, and soon.

Apparently, when President Trump was looking over Democratic health care proposals the other day, he said, and I quote: "Go f--- yourself."

That tells you how much he really cares about whether working families go bankrupt paying for their health care, put off seeking lifesaving medical assistance until it's too late, or even die as a result of his agenda.

Unlike the president, I do care – and I'm ready and willing to pass a bipartisan bill that not only funds the government, but also fixes the GOP's self-made health care crisis.

Now, it's up to Senate Republicans to get serious about negotiating a way out of this.

Thank you so much for everything, friend – there'll be more to come soon. So hold the line, keep the faith, and stay tuned.

Patty Murray