House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) appeared on Fox News' America Reports and Newsmax's Wake Up America to discuss the ongoing government shutdown. Arrington focused on the effects of the shutdown on vulnerable Americans, including families who rely on food assistance and critical care programs.
"We’ve just got to keep the lights on here and keep that critical support and lifeline to our vulnerable families. I think that’s something that the Senate Democrats are waking up to, fortunately,” Arrington said during his interview.
Addressing calls from within the Democratic Party to reopen the government, Arrington stated: “Quite frankly, I think you cannot reward this behavior, or you’re going to get it year in and year out: this hostage-taking, this extreme posturing. It’s not good for the governing of our country.
“I mean, this is the first time any party collectively has opposed a clean CR. It’s the first time Chuck Schumer has done it in his 44-year career. So, no. Look, we’ve given them 13 chances now to vote to fund SNAP—the 14th coming tomorrow.
“Head Start, WIC, all the service members, the vulnerable, our seniors—you’re not getting home health and telehealth services. I think the marketplace is going to take care of this. What I mean is dominoes are already starting to fall, right?
“You have independents fleeing in opposition from the Democrats to Republicans. You’ve got CNN siding with Republicans... some parallel universe I’m living in now, right? And then you’ve got key constituencies of the Democrats, like anti-hunger groups, who are saying this is going to be the worst hunger catastrophe and crisis since the Great Depression. And labor unions are saying, ‘Stop the madness. Democrats, pass a clean CR and get with regular order.’”
Arrington described potential impacts if an agreement is not reached by Saturday: “I think come Saturday—which is when 42 million vulnerable families will be without their nutritional assistance to feed their families—you already have seniors not getting home health and telehealth services. You have mothers and their children—some of the most vulnerable—not getting critical health care and nutritional services through WIC programs. It’s a long list of vulnerable families in our country not getting critical care.
“And then you’ve got hundreds of thousands of families of the men and women in the armed serviceswho are not going to be paid. And yes, I think the pressure is mounting. I think you’re going to see a break in the Democrats in the Senate, which is going to be a relief for everybody. Then we can get back to regular order and the norms for the Senate—where we continue funding at last year’s levels, with no policy changes, and negotiate a bipartisan funding agreement to fund the government for fiscal year 2026.”
The current debate centers around passing a continuing resolution (CR) that would allow government operations—including nutrition assistance programs such as SNAP—to continue while negotiations over longer-term funding proceed.
