Schumer Gov. Shutdown Costing Taxpayers $400 Million Per Day as Democrats Fight for Illegal Alien Healthcare

By The Blog Source

According to new figures from the Congressional Budget Office, taxpayers are spending almost $400 million every day to compensate 750,000 federal employees who are not working as a result of the government shutdown. Costs have now exceeded $1.2 billion as the standoff begins its second week, and they are rising every day.

"Enough has to be enough for the radical left," Senator Joni Ernst said, accusing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of pulling a political prank over Democrats' demand for taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal aliens. Taxpayers will eventually cover the full salaries of government employees who were not working during the shutdown, as mandated by a 2019 statute that requires backpay for furloughed personnel.

As the standoff continues, 750,000 so-called "nonessential" employees remain on furlough, with taxpayers bearing the cost, according to statistics gathered at the request of Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA).

On Friday, Ernst told Fox News Digital, “Schumer’s Shutdown Shenanigans mean taxpayers will be on the hook for another $400 million today to pay 750,000 non-essential bureaucrats NOT to work.”

Every day of inaction incurs a significant cost under a 2019 statute that guarantees full backpay for all furloughed workers once the government reopens. The CBO estimates in its letter to Ernst that approximately 750,000 employees could face furloughs if discretionary funding lapses for fiscal year 2026.

The CBO's estimates are based in part on the 35-day partial shutdown that took place during the first Trump administration, from December 2018 to January 2019. The agency cautioned that extended shutdowns typically lead to greater furloughs as agencies restrict operations, even though the number of impacted employees varies daily.

After Senate Democrats repeatedly blocked a Republican bill to fund the government through November 21, the shutdown started early Wednesday morning. Schumer's caucus called for further provisions to include medical care for illegal aliens, which is a red line for Republicans, even though the House had already passed its version of the temporary budget plan.

Democrats' spending priorities have drawn criticism from White House spokesperson Kush Desai, who told Fox News Digital, Democrats want to spend $200 billion on free health care for illegal aliens, so they are spending $400 million per day to pay federal employees not to work. These folks aren't serious.

President Trump has insisted that he did not want a shutdown and that, once it starts, he sees a chance to implement reforms. "Shutdowns can have a lot of positive effects," he told reporters on Tuesday. "A lot of things that we didn't want can be eliminated, and they would be Democratic items."

Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, met with Trump on Thursday to talk about potential agency-level cuts that could be made as part of larger restructuring initiatives. As the administration retools the federal workforce, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated that "thousands" of federal jobs may eventually be eliminated.

Leavitt predicted that it would be in the thousands. "Unfortunately, the Office of Management and Budget and the whole team here have to work on that today."

Senate Democrats are under increasing pressure to agree to a solution that will reopen the government and cease the $400 million daily drain on taxpayers as the deadlock enters its second week.

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