The US government shut down at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday after Senate Democrats blocked a GOP-led stopgap funding bill
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries hosted a livestream in the hours before and after the federal government shut down Wednesday morning, but fewer than 200 people tuned in as he and other Democrats tried to pin the blame on Republicans.
Jeffries’s livestream, billed as “Stop the Republican Shutdown,” drew only 156 viewers about 90 minutes before the shutdown began, according to a screenshot posted by journalist Ken Klippenstein. A second screenshot showed viewership sinking to just 93, roughly 20 minutes after the shutdown took effect.
The Daily Caller confirmed the weak turnout, reporting that the House minority leader’s livestream “garnered fewer than 100 views after running continuously for several hours through early Wednesday morning.”
The federal government shut down starting at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday after Senate Democrats thwarted a GOP-led effort to extend funding for federal agencies through Nov. 21. Democrats opposed the bill because it left out provisions to extend health care subsidies and to reverse recent Medicaid cuts, while Republicans argued that health care matters needed to be handled separately—not attached to government funding bills.
“Democrats have officially voted to CLOSE the government,” House speaker Mike Johnson wrote in a X post as the shutdown took effect. “Results: Moms and kids now lose WIC nutrition. Veterans lose health care and suicide prevention programs. FEMA has shortfalls during hurricane season. Soldiers and TSA agents go UNPAID.”
“The only question now: How long will Chuck Schumer let this pain go on—for his own selfish reasons?” Johnson added.
Meanwhile, Jeffries and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer sought to pin the blame on Republicans. “After months of making life harder and more expensive, Donald Trump and Republicans have now shut down the federal government because they do not want to protect the healthcare of the American people,” Jeffries and Schumer said in a joint statement early Wednesday.
Sen. John Fetterman, one of three Democrats who voted with Republicans to keep the government open, said in a post Tuesday evening that “it’s a sad day for our nation” and that “my vote was our country over my party.”
CNN host Abby Phillip on Tuesday evening asked Jeffries about a White House video that features prominent Democrats’ past statements calling shutdowns dangerous. “Are Democrats being hypocritical now on the verge of a shutdown?” Phillip asked, to which Jeffries replied, “Not at all.”
