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Vice President JD Vance on Sunday accused Democrats of “hostage-taking” amid the ongoing government shutdown, blaming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and progressive lawmakers for holding up negotiations over expiring health insurance tax credits.
“We don’t negotiate with a person who has taken the entire federal government hostage over a health care policy dispute,” Vance said on CBS’ Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.
The shutdown entered its 12th day Sunday, with neither party showing signs of compromise. Democrats have demanded a deal to extend health insurance tax credits as part of any agreement to reopen the government, while Republicans — led by President Donald Trump — have refused to link the funding measure to health care policy.
“This isn’t a negotiation; this is hostage-taking,” Vance said, adding that Democrats should first vote to reopen the government before talks on health care continue. “If Chuck Schumer wants to come into the Oval Office or come to my house, he is welcome to talk about how to fix health care policy for Americans. But you don’t come into the Oval Office and say, ‘unless you give us everything that I want, I’m going to shut down the government.’”
Vance said the administration remains “willing to compromise” but will not “reward” Democrats for “shutting down the government.” He defended the layoffs announced Friday that affected thousands of federal employees, calling them an unfortunate consequence of the budget impasse.
“The government shutdown inevitably leads to some chaos,” Vance said. “We are figuring out how to take money from some areas and give it to other areas.”
The Trump administration said Friday that seven federal agencies began issuing reduction-in-force notices to more than 4,000 workers as part of its plan to maintain “essential services.” Officials later acknowledged some layoffs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were rescinded due to a clerical error.
Democrats have accused Republicans of refusing to negotiate in good faith. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, appearing on Face the Nation after Vance, said Republicans are “just not living in reality.”
“There are no negotiations happening right now because Republicans are boycotting them,” Murphy said, arguing GOP leaders want to allow health insurance premiums to rise “by 75% in order to finance their tax cut for the wealthy.”
Murphy called the shutdown “an emergency” and urged Congress to act swiftly. “We have a responsibility in this upcoming budget to prevent disaster for families whose premiums are about to go up, and to address the destruction of our democracy and the rule of law,” he said.
