Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) attacked President Donald Trump for punishing the American people in the government shutdown.
"If the President is going to fire thousands of federal employees, that's on him. He can't blame that on anybody else," Beshear said during a "Team Kentucky" update. "Why? Because in other shutdowns it hasn't happened. Our families are not a prop, they are not to be used as negotiating tactics or for leverage. And so I hope that everybody knows that this President doesn't have to fire any federal employees, and if he does, it's because he wants to."
The shutdown began at midnight Wednesday despite Republicans holding control of the House, Senate and White House. They are demanding that Democrats help them raise the debt ceiling, but Democrats want a concession in return: agreeing to fund Affordable Care Act subsidies.
"WIC and SNAP benefits will continue, certainly at this time," Beshear continued. "Our current President seems to think he can just cancel any program anywhere that he would like, depending on the leadership in that state. That's not legal, that will be challenged in court, but you can't negotiate through blackmail, and that's what's happening right now."
"It's complicated and it's tough but certainly we're thinking about each of those families," Beshear said. "You never want to see a government shut down and we are thinking about and should be checking on all those Kentucky families who work for the federal government that are currently furloughed and not receiving their salaries. It is going to be really difficult on them."
Beshear reiterated the comments when speaking to NPR's "Morning Edition."
“What we're seeing on the other side is the president making threats, almost negotiating through blackmail, saying, 'If you don't agree to exactly what I want, I'm going to fire a whole bunch of people and cause a lot of pain.”…If he fires a bunch of people, it's not because Democrats wouldn't reach a deal. It's because the president decides and actually fires people.”
The accusation of "blackmail" is coming from several lawmakers.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said in a post on Wednesday, "Trump and his cronies spent the day trying to blackmail Democrats into giving him a blank check for his lawlessness. It won’t work."