Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) says Democrats are “lying” about their shutdown strategy as the impasse over funding the government nears the one-month mark.
Golden, who was the only Democrat to vote on a Republican-backed spending measure to fund the government last month, told the Wall Street Journal in an interview that Democrats shouldn’t use the shutdown as leverage to advance their health care demands.
Democrats have been urging Republicans to extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of this year. Experts have said that Americans’ health insurance premiums could increase if those subsidies are not extended.
But Golden argued that Democrats should keep the health care issue separate from reopening the government, noting that it was his own colleagues who included a sunset for the subsidies in 2022.
“I’m just uncomfortable lying about the strategy to win and shutting down the government. We’ve never been the party that does that,” Golden told the Journal in a story published Sunday.
The government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1 after Congress failed to strike a funding deal, has sent rippling effects through Washington, D.C., and beyond. Many federal workers have been left without pay or furloughed, leaving them to rely on food banks and other services.
Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have largely pointed fingers at each other while refusing to negotiate. The Senate has repeatedly voted on and failed to advance a Republican-backed stopgap measure to reopen the government, and there doesn’t appear to be a clear end to the shutdown in sight.
Golden told the Journal that while he favors extending some subsidies, he believes Republicans’ concerns about the issue should be a “starting point” for both parties to come to the table and negotiate. Some Republicans have discussed restricting eligibility for the subsidies to a certain income level.
“I’m not willing to shut down the government over healthcare subsidies for households making $300,000,” Golden told the Journal. “I think we have a deficit problem in this country that neither party is showing any ability or political will to address.”
It’s not the first time Golden has broken from his party. He was the lone House Democrat who voted for a Republican-crafted spending bill to avoid a government shutdown in March. He’s also previously supported President Trump’s tariffs and was one of the few Democrats to vote in favor of the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.
He said in a statement at the time that, “Even a brief shutdown would introduce even more chaos and uncertainty at a time when our country can ill-afford it.”
