Would somebody please do me a favor? Head down to DC and remind the Republican leadership that they control a majority of the House of Representatives, the US Senate, and the Presidency?
If you listen to any Republican leaders these days, they talk about the “Democrat shutdown” and blame leaders Schumer and Jeffries for the partisan divide that’s keeping the government closed. While they’re doing this, the President of the United States is gleefully cancelling transportation projects for states with Democratic Governors and promising “Democrat-oriented” layoffs.
Here’s the simple truth, Speaker Johnson. If you want to pass a “clean” funding extension of President Trump’s priorities, do it with President Trump’s Congress.
But if you can’t get Trump’s priorities through Congress on Republican votes alone, you need to do what’s commonly referred to as “negotiating.” It’s where the country gets a functional government once more and, in exchange, hungry kids in Pennsylvania get to have food.
That’s right; the dysfunction of the national Republican party is about to collide with the continued GOP blockade of a budget in our state Senate. This is going to have very real consequences for Pennsylvania families, already hard hit by the significant reduction in SEPTA service driven by the Republican refusal to fund our transit systems.
Are we noticing a theme, yet? Food stamps and transit programs aren’t a priority for Republican-led legislatures. Pennsylvania’s families don’t need SNAP benefits because Mike Johnson and President Trump traded them to Alaska in exchange for Senator Murkowski’s vote on the Big Beautiful BIll.
I’m not the only one saying that. Look at the words of Senator Murkowski herself upon passage of the Big Beautiful Bill:
“Do I like this bill? No, because I tried to take care of Alaska’s interests … I know that in many parts of the country, there are Americans that are not going to be advantaged by this bill. I don’t like that.”
Pennsylvania is one of those parts of the country. And that bill, passed in July, is the very set of funding priorities that the Republican parties, both nationally and here in Pennsylvania, can’t figure out how to pay for.
They can’t pass a budget because they didn’t do the math on their Trumpification of the Federal Government and now that they need to figure out how to pay for it, the best option they have is to cut off nutritional support for Pennsylvania families.
Here’s the straight truth. If the national Republicans wanted to pass a budget for their cruel vision for Trump’s America, they could do so today on a party line vote. But if they want Democrats to cross the aisle, they need to be sure Pennsylvania families can put food on the table, stop threatening to fire Pennsylvania’s federal workers, and restore funding for transportation projects here in the northeast that benefit every single American.
Until then, they can sit on the sidelines with the PA GOP, cheering on the erosion of our transportation infrastructure and taking meals from the dinner-tables of Pennsylvania families.
READ: ‘Uncharted Territory’: Ongoing Shutdown Threatens Food Aid for 42 Million People
I know that Democrats stand ready to pass budget bills that support ALL Pennsylvanians and Americans. For budgets that fund healthcare, nutrition benefits, and support hard working American families.
But Speaker Johnson and PA GOP Senate Leader Joe Pittman seem content to let SEPTA fall into ruin while Donald Trump pays himself $230 Million in Taxpayer dollars.
