Budget paralysis | A Democratic leader accuses Republicans of “instrumentalizing hunger”

(Washington) Hakeem Jeffries, leader of the Democratic minority in the House of Representatives, accused Donald Trump and the Republican Party on Sunday of “instrumentalizing the hunger” of the 42 million Americans deprived of the public food aid program because of budgetary paralysis.

In an interview broadcast on CNN, he affirmed that the Republicans, the majority in Congress, did not intend to end the “shutdown” which has lasted for almost five weeks, costing several billion dollars to the American economy.

Since 1^er October, start of the budgetary paralysis, Democrats and Republicans are unable to agree to adopt a new budget and accuse each other of being responsible for the situation.

Democrats are demanding the extension of public subsidies linked to health insurance for low-income households, which expire at the end of the year. The Republicans denounce unjustifiable obstruction by the opposition.

“We want to reopen the government, we want to pass a bipartisan spending deal that actually improves the lives of ordinary Americans,” Hakeem Jeffries thundered on the show State of the Union from CNN.

“It is very regrettable that Donald Trump and the Republicans have decided to exploit hunger and suspend the SNAP (food aid) program, when two federal courts have clearly said that no person in this country should be deprived of food assistance,” he continued in reference to a court decision ordering the continuation of SNAP, suspended on Saturday.

Donald Trump has affirmed his desire to continue funding food aid but in the meantime, millions of Americans find themselves deprived of this essential program.

Mike Johnson, Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, for his part declared on Fox News that “it was not about winning a political victory”. “The American people are suffering,” he said, accusing Democrats of “playing with fire.”

Donald Trump’s party has a majority in both houses of Congress. But the rules of the Senate mean that a qualified majority is necessary to adopt a budget and the Republicans must therefore count on the support of several Democratic senators.