White House Press Secretary Lays Out Harm Caused by ‘Democrat Shutdown’

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt laid out the harm caused by the ‘Democrat Shutdown,’ now the longest shutdown in U.S. history, during her Press Briefing on Wednesday.

“The Democrats dragged on the government shutdown for 43 days… damage caused by the Democrats by this reckless government shutdown cannot be forgotten,” said Leavitt during her press conference on Wednesday. 

Recently, both the Small Business Optimism Index and the Federal Reserve reported that the shutdown has already negatively impacted the economy. Millions of Americans are employed by the federal government, while millions more work as federal contractors, subcontractors, or for businesses that depend on federal contracts or funding.  

At the most recent Federal Reserve meeting, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the negative economic effects should begin to reverse once the government reopens. 

During Wednesday’s press conference, Leavitt listed some of the economic consequences of the shutdown.

“Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have missed their paychecks, tens of billions in wages and benefits were withheld impacting vulnerable families, millions of low-income American families missed their SNAP benefits, nearly 20,000 flights at airports across the country were delayed due to staffing shortages causing Americans to miss family events, vacations, and work obligations.” 

She noted Airlines for America estimates flight disruptions already have or will impact 5.2 million travelers. 

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that cuts to fourth-quarter GDP growth could be as large as 2%, potentially delivering a negative blow to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s plan to keep the federal deficit at 3% of GDP in his “3-3-3” plan. 

CBO says, “Most of the decline in real GDP will be recovered eventually, but estimates between $7 billion and $14 billion will not be.” 

Leavitt said that she believes the deal will hold and that the government shutdown will come to an end tonight.  

She blamed Democrats for the entire government shutdown. “Just look at the vote count,” Leavitt urged. “The clean CR that will lead to the reopening of the federal government is what President Trump and Republicans have supported from day one.”

Before wrapping up her remarks and opening the room to questions, Leavitt touted President Trump’s efforts to address affordability in America. 

The Press Secretary discussed “the largest middle class tax cuts,” which include no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security. She explained that the tax cuts will guarantee that “next year Americans will put more money into their pockets.” Leavitt then compared inflation rates during Trump’s administration with those of the Biden Administration. Notably, inflation rates under Biden were higher, with the administration averaging rates at 5%. So far, the Trump administration is seeing averages of about 2.5%. 

Leavitt says a big part of Trump’s ability to reduce inflation has been to unleash American energy dominance. She says, “Gasoline prices are at their lowest levels in five years, and we expect them to continue to decrease.” 

Along with lower gas prices, she noted the President is working around the clock to lower drug prices by negotiating deals with large pharmaceutical companies at home and abroad. Leavitt said she expects small businesses will save thousands of dollars in regulatory burdens as the Trump Administration “cuts thirty unnecessary regulations for every new one on the books.” 

Leavitt concluded by emphasizing that affordability remains at the top of President Trump’s agenda and criticized Democrats for what she called hypocrisy on the issue: “The notion that the same Democrats who shut down the federal government, sabotaged our economy, robbed people of their paychecks and helped Joe Biden ratchet up inflation to 9% are now suddenly affordability champions is completely absurd.”