Biden campaign: Trump ‘rooting for government shutdown,’ doesn’t care about impact on families

President Biden’s reelection campaign called out former President Trump for rooting for a government shutdown, saying that he doesn’t care about the ramifications for families.

Trump on Wednesday called on Republican lawmakers to use the looming government funding deadline as an opportunity to withhold funds from the Justice Department (DOJ). 

“Donald Trump is rooting for a government shutdown and couldn’t care less what it would mean for American families. The former president continues to act as MAGA House Republicans’ puppetmaster, now ordering them to shut down the government, which would cause chaos at the expense of hardworking Americans and our nation’s security,” said TJ Ducklo, senior adviser for communications for the Biden-Harris campaign.

Trump, the front-runner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, said the looming deadline marks “the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me and other Patriots.” The DOJ has indicted Trump in two separate cases, both stemming from special council Jack Smith, related to his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House and his alleged effort to overturn the 2020 election.

“Every American remembers the jobs lost and lives damaged by Donald Trump’s extremism during his four years as president, and now he’s once again playing political games with people’s lives by capitalizing on House Republicans’ weakness and doing whatever it takes to regain power,” Ducklo added in his statement.

The House has less than two weeks to extend government funding past Sept. 30 or risk a shutdown, and Republicans are struggling to reach a deal within their own conference to avert one. And, any partisan bill that can get passed in the House is unlikely to get support from the Democratic-controlled Senate. 

The White House on Wednesday outlined the potential ramifications of a shutdown, accusing House Republicans of putting the nation at risk and creating “needless uncertainty for families and businesses.”

The White House has called on Republicans in Congress to pass funding bills under terms agreed to during negotiations in May that led to an increase in the debt ceiling.