OPINION:
“Every day gets better for us.” This is what Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, has said and believes about the ongoing government shutdown. Better for the Democrats in Congress, maybe, but not for the millions of working Americans crushed by the cynical political games of the radical left.
Their message couldn’t be clearer: They are willing to hold our country hostage, stall paychecks and block critical services just to protect benefits for illegal immigrants.
Let’s be honest. This shutdown isn’t about fiscal responsibility, fairness or compassion. It’s about power. Mr. Schumer and his allies in the Senate see an opportunity to score political points and force President Trump and his administration into submission over a budget that puts American citizens first. Their smug confidence is built on a false narrative — that the public blames conservatives for dysfunction — while the truth is beginning to show. And that is that the Democrats are gambling with the American people’s livelihoods to bankroll their open-border agenda.
The latest budget standoff began when Mr. Trump urged Congress to focus government spending on American citizens — not illegal border crossers. House Republicans responded by passing a clean continuing resolution that keeps funding at current levels, without expanding costly welfare, housing or health-care benefits to those in the country unlawfully. But Senate Democrats are now the ones stalling, demanding new carveouts and taxpayer-funded perks for illegal immigrants before agreeing to move forward.
Their refusal to accept a clean bill tells you everything. While Republicans are working to keep the government open and protect American priorities, Democrats are playing politics, holding out for giveaways that put non-citizens ahead of working families.
Meanwhile, real Americans are paying the price. Small businesses that depend on federal contracts are seeing their payments delayed. Veterans waiting for benefits are getting stuck in bureaucratic limbo. Families relying on temporary assistance or child-care support are watching uncertainty grow.
And all this while the Biden-era spending schemes the left still defends continue sending taxpayer dollars to people who broke our laws to enter this country.
Just look at where your money is going. Under the Democrats’ budget priorities, billions continue flowing to non-citizens for housing vouchers, health care, education and even legal aid to fight deportation. Meanwhile, Americans facing record inflation, higher mortgage rates and unaffordable groceries are told to “tighten their belts.” It’s a moral inversion that exposes what the left truly values: ideology over country, politics over people.
The Trump administration has drawn a firm line: No more funding America last. This government must serve its citizens first. That means secure borders, affordable energy and an economy that works for working people. But instead of working across the aisle to restore fiscal sanity, Democrats chose obstruction. They believe chaos helps them politically. Mr. Schumer’s smug grin says it all.
Let’s put this in perspective. During the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris years, the national debt ballooned past $35 trillion. Nearly $3 trillion in pandemic-era “relief” vanished into special interests, green subsidies and foreign aid. Federal agencies swelled in size and cost, while the southern border collapsed under record illegal crossings.
Yet Democrats now claim fiscal discipline because they refuse to cut waste or cancel programs that serve non-citizens.
That’s not compassion; it’s betrayal.
Every dollar sent to an illegal immigrant for welfare, health care or legal defense is a dollar taken from an American family struggling to make ends meet. Every housing unit reserved for a migrant family means one less for a homeless veteran. Every taxpayer-subsidized service for those here illegally is a slap in the face to citizens who followed the law, paid their taxes and built this nation.
And now, when Mr. Trump finally stands up and says, “Enough,” the left screams, “Shutdown.” But what they’re really shutting down is accountability.
The American people see through this. Poll after poll shows that the majority of voters want wasteful spending cut, a strong and secure border and a focus on America first. They know the left’s stance isn’t about compassion; it’s about control. They want a permanently dependent class who rely on government handouts and will reward the politicians who provide them.
Mr. Schumer may think “every day gets better” for him, but for working Americans, every day under Democratic obstruction gets harder. The shutdown can end today if Democrats choose country over politics and put Americans first.
Until then, the message from the Trump-Vance administration remains clear: This government will no longer be a piggy bank for illegal immigrants and the open borders agenda.
It’s time to reopen America by restoring it to the Americans who built it.
• Jorge Martínez is senior adviser and national director of Hispanic outreach for America First Works. He formerly served as press secretary at the U.S. Department of Justice.
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