Lawler column accuses Democrats of hypocrisy as government shutdown brink intensifies

A New York Post opinion column argues that Democrats are hypocritically steering the United States toward a government shutdown to advance their political priorities, citing a reversal from their past rhetoric. The piece notes that last week the House passed a stopgap funding measure to keep the government open at current levels for eight weeks ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline, but Senate Democrats blocked it, insisting on billions in new spending as a condition for passage.

In the column, Rep. Mike Lawler of New York's Hudson Valley argues that this stance signals a double standard in U.S. politics: Democrats once denounced shutdowns as reckless and harmful, but now appear willing to use the threat of a shutdown to achieve their aims. The author points to statements historically made by prominent Democrats to illustrate the shift.

Lawler cites remarks from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in 2018 and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2019 to illustrate this claim. Schumer urged that “we shouldn’t shut down the government over a dispute,” while Pelosi argued that “there is no such thing as a good shutdown of government,” asserting that the president cannot hold public employees hostage. The column asserts that those principles have been upended in the current funding fight and that the party now uses shutdown rhetoric to extract concessions.

The column also references comments from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other Democrats who warned that shutdowns would hurt families, farmers, border agents and middle-class workers. Lawler writes that those lines have not aged well as Democrats push to apply pressure through the funding stalemate.

It then details the consequences a shutdown would bring: hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed, paychecks delayed, and disruptions to veterans’ care, Social Security and Medicare payments. He warns that each week the government remains closed, billions of dollars vanish from the economy, markets become jittery, and uncertainty spreads from Main Street to Wall Street.

Lawler contends that neither party benefits from a shutdown and that bipartisanship is necessary to finish negotiations on longer-term funding before year’s end. He calls for a clean continuing resolution to keep the government open while lawmakers negotiate a broader agreement, and he urges Senate Democrats to join Republicans in passage so that essential services continue uninterrupted.

In closing, the column frames the current standoff as a test of accountability and honesty in U.S. politics, arguing that the electorate deserves steady governance rather than crisis-driven brinkmanship. Lawler emphasizes that he has long sought responsible appropriations and border security, while rejecting political gamesmanship that harms the people he represents. The piece concludes with a call for Democrats in the Senate to vote with Republicans to pass a clean continuing resolution and maintain government operations while a broader budget agreement is pursued.

Source: New York Post