RSC Leadership Exposes Schumer's $1.5 Trillion Ransom Note: Democrats Putting Americans Last

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republican Study Committee (RSC) leaders are blasting Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for holding the government hostage with a $1.5 trillion ransom demand for illegal alien healthcare and fraudulent spending programs. House Republicans passed a clean CR to fund the government at current levels, but Democrats blocked it and are recklessly threatening a shutdown unless Republicans cave to their radical wish list.  In short, the Democrats are willing to see servicemembers go without pay and our veterans lose their hard-earned benefits while demanding billions in new spending and putting Americans last.

Democrat shutdown demands include: $1.5 trillion in new spending to fuel inflation and explode the debt; $350 billion to permanently extend fraudulent COVID-era subsidies that enable abortion coverage and so-called “gender transition” procedures; free Medicaid for 1.2 million illegal aliens while American families struggle to afford care; $500 million to restore funding for NPR and PBS; reversing President Trump's spending cuts in order to fund wasteful programs like global LGBTQI+ awareness campaigns; and stripping the President's constitutional authority to eliminate government waste.

Members of RSC leadership are calling out the woke demands through the Democrats’ CR as a repackaged version of their failed 2024 platform that the American people overwhelmingly rejected:

"House and Senate Democrats voted to SHUT DOWN the government and abandon the American people," said RSC Chairman August Pfluger (TX-11). "Democrats are playing a reckless game of political chicken, holding government funding hostage in exchange for an additional $1.5 trillion in spending, free healthcare for illegal aliens at the American taxpayers' expense, and a $400 billion blank check to insurance companies. That's a game House conservatives are not remotely interested in playing."

“Democrats are so committed to giving illegal immigrants taxpayer-funded healthcare that they’re willing to shut down the government. It’s all about power—packing failing blue cities with illegal immigrants to boost their census numbers and cling to Congressional seats and electoral votes. Democrats put their political survival ahead of American citizens, even if it means holding the government hostage,” said RSC Budget Task Force Chair Beth Van Duyne (TX-24).

“Congressional Democrats are barreling our country toward a devastating shutdown,” said RSC Messaging Task Force Chair Mark Alford (MO-04). “After rejecting a clean, nonpartisan continuing resolution, they are now holding government funding hostage for an almost $1.5 trillion wish list of left-wing demands. They want to gut the largest ever federal investment in rural hospitals to fund Medicaid benefits for illegal aliens, all while leaving disaster funding, border security, paychecks for our troops, and veterans' programs twisting in the wind. The same folks who once called shutdowns ‘dangerous,' ‘disastrous,' and 'self-inflicted harm’ are now manufacturing one to cater to their radical base. D.C. Democrats need to wake up and keep our government open so it can serve the American people."

“Democrats are once again holding our government hostage—demanding free healthcare for illegal immigrants and billions for woke media like NPR, while leaving our troops, seniors, and families behind,” said RSC Emerging Technologies Task Force Chair Kat Cammack (FL-03). “Republicans put a clean bill on the table. Democrats chose politics over the American people.”

“As a 20-year combat veteran and Air Force Colonel, I know how damaging a shutdown would be for our national security. This is not a time for political games. The threats America faces are real, and we need a functioning government to deter them. A shutdown would mean the men and women in uniform—who put their lives on the line every day to defend our freedoms and American values—would be asked to serve without pay. That’s unacceptable. House Republicans have done our job. Now, it’s time for Senate Democrats to step up, set aside their partisan games, and pass the House's bill,” said RSC National Security Task Force Chair Zach Nunn (IA-03).

“Instead of honoring a basic continuation of government services for the American people, Democrats are using this process to demand new policies for the benefit of illegal aliens which have nothing to do with the funding of our government. House Republicans already voted to keep the government open with responsible funding, and we will not be pressured into accepting the left's radical agenda under the threat of a shutdown,” said RSC Article One Task Force Chair Harriet Hageman (WY-AL).