White House warns of ‘pain’ inflicted on Americans if Democrats don’t reopen government

A lot of “pain” will be inflicted on the American public if Democrats fail to vote to reopen the federal government, the White House said Monday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked during her daily briefing about the consequences if President Donald Trump doesn’t secure a deal to get government employees back to work this week.

“Unfortunately, there’s going to be a lot of pain inflicted,” she said. “There already is—on the American public, on our troops who are not being paid, on women and young children who depend on critical food assistance.”

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“We hate to see this,” she added. “In fact, the Office of Management and Budget is trying to do everything it can to find funds to support these vulnerable populations in our country. Again, we shouldn’t have to do that. The Democrats have a chance to change course tonight.”

Monday marked the sixth day of the government shutdown, as both parties traded blame.

The Senate is expected to vote Monday night on dueling measures to fund the government.

“We urge Democratic senators to vote to reopen the government and do the right thing,” Leavitt said.

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She noted that if a deal isn’t reached by Monday night, federal workers won’t receive their next full paycheck. Additionally, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food benefits to low-income families, will run out of funding.

Trump has repeatedly blamed Democrats for the shutdown, calling their demands “unreasonable.”

On Sunday, he told reporters that looming layoffs are “up to them,” referring to Democrats who voted against a bill to fund the government and avert the shutdown.