
With just days to go before the federal government could shut down, President Donald Trump appeared to welcome the crisis, blaming Democrats who refused to support his policies for the impending calamity while charging them with wanting “transgender for everybody.”
The president did not explain his allegation.
“They want to have transgender for everybody. These people are crazy — the Democrats,” the president declared. “So if it has to shut down, it’ll have to shut down. But they’re the ones that are shutting down the government.”
Speaker Mike Johnson has already sent members of the House home, and “may not bring the House back at all next week,” according to Punchbowl News co-founder Jake Sherman. “They think the ball is in the Senate’s court," he said, "and they will return when they have a bill to pass,” to keep the government open.
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Republicans control the White House, the House of Representatives, and the Senate.
Trump has told Republican House and Senate leaders not to negotiate with Democrats and canceled a meeting with the top Democratic leaders earlier this week.
Trump this week has also alleged that Democrats are “threatening” to shut down the government “unless they can have over $1 Trillion Dollars in new spending to continue free healthcare for Illegal Aliens.”
He, also wrongly, claimed Democrats want to “force Taxpayers to fund Transgender surgery for minors, have dead people on the Medicaid roles, allow Illegal Alien Criminals to steal Billions of Dollars in American Taxpayer Benefits, try to force our Country to again open our Borders to Criminals and to the World, allow men to play in women’s sports, and essentially create Transgender operations for everybody.”
On Thursday in the Oval Office, Trump was asked why he would fire or lay off federal workers — which his administration has threatened to do — rather than furlough them, as is the norm during government shutdowns.
“Well, this is all caused by the Democrats,” Trump replied.
Trump: "They want to have transgender for everybody. These people are crazy -- the Democrats. So if it has to shut down, it'll have to shut down. But they're the ones that are shutting down the government." pic.twitter.com/VVnMZQ3WTn
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 26, 2025
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