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The federal government is once again on the verge of a shutdown and if it happens, it won’t be Democrats who are held responsible with CNN already setting up former President Donald J. Trump to take the blame.

In what has become a regular struggle to keep the government running, this time the issue of contention is the important matter of election security, with a measure to ensure that only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote titled the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act being fiercely opposed by Democrats for obvious reasons.

On Wednesday, a day when over a dozen Republicans would deal a blow to Speaker Mike Johnson by torpedoing his funding bill, CNN’s Manu Raju previewed the cable “news” network’s coming spin to point a finger at Trump and Republicans if the government is forced into shutdown mode.

(Video Credit: CNN)

“Congress has to pass a spending bill by the end of the month. What’s the play here?” Brianna Keilar asked the reporter who was standing at the foot of the steps of the U.S. Capitol where he was interviewing lawmakers.

“Yeah, this is going to fail this Johnson plan, even though not just because Democrats are opposed to that immigration provision. They say it’s unnecessary because it’s already illegal for undocumented citizens to vote in this country,” Raju responded. “Johnson said it is necessary nevertheless.”

“But it’s not just the opposition from Democrats. It’s also some Republicans who do not like short-term spending bills rather than the annual funding bills that Congress is supposed to approve by the end of the month,” he continued. “Others are concerned about the six-month extension that Johnson is proposing, worried that it could hamstring the Defense Department at this critical time of threats from overseas.”

“But in talking to Republicans, there is no consensus about the way forward. Some are making clear to their colleagues on the right who are itching for a government shutdown that it now is not the time to do that so close to an election,” Raju added as clips of a few GOP House lawmakers were shown.

“There are some in my district who want ‘shutdown, shutdown.’ But then what? A shutdown at this point is not a winner for the Republicans,” Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) told the CNN reporter.

“I’m not shutting the government down. My colleagues aren’t shutting the government down,” said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY). “At the end of the day, the election is going to be determined by the American people based on the issues of affordability, the border crime, and the international crises that we’ve seen under Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and obviously, a government shutdown would distract from that.”

“I absolutely believe that the speaker should always be ready for a government shutdown. We are the most powerful branch of government. And because we control the purse strings, because we control the funding,” Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) told Raju who then invoked Trump.

“And one person who seems to agree with Congressman Boebert there is former President Trump himself,” he said. “In fact last week he posted on social media that if Republicans in the House and Senate don’t get absolute assurances on election, what he called election security, he said they should in no way, shape or form go forward with the continuing resolution on the budget, that continuing resolution.”

“That would mean essentially a shutdown if they were to listen to Donald Trump. I asked the speaker today, do you agree with what Donald Trump said?” Raju added, telling Keilar that he’s spoken with Johnson. “And he didn’t quite say, in fact, he said that he and Trump have spoken, and he of course also didn’t also reveal what his next step will be when this measure fails tonight but everyone will be watching here because time is running out to avoid a shutdown by month’s end.”

“If Republicans don’t get the SAVE Act, and every ounce of it, they should not agree to a Continuing Resolution in any way, shape, or form. Democrats are registering Illegal Voters by the TENS OF THOUSANDS, as we speak – They will be voting in the 2024 Presidential Election, and they shouldn’t be allowed to,” Trump said in a Wednesday post to Truth Social.

“Only American Citizens should be voting in our Most Important Election in History, or any Election! A Vote must happen BEFORE the Election, not AFTER the Election when it is too late. BE SMART, REPUBLICANS, YOU’VE BEEN PUSHED AROUND LONG ENOUGH BY THE DEMOCRATS. DON’T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN. Remember, this is Biden/Harris’ fault, not yours!” Trump added, putting the blame for any shutdown where it belongs, on Democrats who are refusing to do anything to prevent illegal aliens from voting in the election.

Chris Donaldson
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