Vance Blames Democrats Over Shutdown, ACA Subsidy Fight

Vice President JD Vance blamed Democratic leaders for a partial government shutdown that began after the Senate failed to pass a short-term funding bill, saying nearly all Republicans voted to reopen the government. He accused Democrats of pressing to fund taxpayer-provided health care for undocumented immigrants, pointed to Biden-era programs and language in Democratic proposals, and called Democratic denials “baseless propaganda.” Vance defended Republican actions, including the "Big Beautiful Bill" that removed parolees and emergency-only coverage from eligibility, saying those moves were meant to prevent taxpayer-funded care for illegal immigrants. He warned the shutdown is already affecting military pay, food assistance, flood insurance and other services and urged Democrats to reopen the government before negotiating healthcare. Lawmakers remain deadlocked because Democrats are attempting to tie ACA premium subsidy extensions to the funding measure while Republicans want to address subsidies separately, leaving the Senate short of the 60 votes needed to pass a clean continuing resolution.