In the News

This morning, Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) joined House and Senate Republican leadership to discuss the Democrat-led government shutdown and its impacts on the American people.

Click here or above to watch Whip Emmer’s remarks.

Whip Emmer: “‘A government shutdown serves no one.’ ‘Government shutdowns unleash chaos on federal workers, delay pay for servicemembers, and weaken our position on the global stage.’ ‘To hold these people hostage instead of just letting them do their jobs…is so wrong.’ These aren’t my words. These are the words of Congressional Democrats over the last six years. I hope that they will listen to their own advice for once. Let’s be clear about how we got here: Republicans did our job. We did the right and reasonable thing by passing a nonpartisan, clean CR to keep the government open while we work to return the appropriations process to regular order. The reason the government is shut down this morning is because the Democrats decided they would rather hold our government hostage and issue a $1.5 trillion ransom note of radical demands than join us as we govern. Make no mistake: Their top priority is not fighting for Americans' health care. Their top priority is picking a fight with President Trump and scoring political points with their far-left base in the process. The American people aren’t fools, however, and they won’t be used as pawns in this ridiculous game. To my colleagues on the other side of the aisle – it’s not too late. You can still do the responsible thing by passing our clean CR in the Senate and sending it to President Trump’s desk immediately. The time for staged photo ops, selfies, and scripted talking points over. The time for deliberate action is now.”