White House blames Democrats for record 43-day shutdown

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday (November 12, 2025) accused Democrats of plunging the United States into the most extended government shutdown in history for “pure partisan politics,”saying the 43-day stalemate inflicted billions of dollars in economic damage and hurt families across the country.

“The damage caused by the Democrats with this reckless government shutdown cannot be forgotten. It is entirely the fault of the Democrat Party,” Ms. Leavitt told reporters from the podium of the White House Briefing Room.

The press secretary said President Donald Trump was “very hopeful” the standoff would end within hours as lawmakers voted on a clean continuing resolution (CR) to reopen the government.

‘The Longest Shutdown in U.S. History’

Ms. Leavitt laid out a grim tally of the shutdown’s effects — hundreds of thousands of unpaid federal workers, millions of delayed food assistance payments, and airports crippled by staff shortages.

“Nearly 20,000 flights at airports across the country were delayed due to staffing shortages, causing Americans to miss family events, vacations and work obligations,” she said. “According to Airlines for America, an estimated 5.2 million travellers have had their flights disrupted over the course of the Democrat shutdown.”

Citing Congressional Budget Office data, she warned the closure could shave two percentage points off fourth-quarter GDP growth, while “crushing the travel and hospitality industries” and hurting consumer sentiment.

“It’s hard to recap all of this without asking a simple question — why?” she said. “Why have the Democrats put the American people through this pain for 43 days in a row?”

A ‘Reckless Demand’ on Healthcare

Ms. Leavitt said the shutdown began with what she called a “ridiculous demand” from Democrats to fund health care benefits for undocumented immigrants — a proposal Republicans flatly rejected.

“They started this shutdown to force taxpayer-funded health care benefits for illegal aliens who broke into our country,” she said. “Even after it was clear President Trump and Republicans would never force American taxpayers to pay for free health care for illegals, the Democrats kept dragging this reckless shutdown on for weeks.”

She claimed the Democratic strategy was motivated by election-year politics, arguing that the party was “totally captured by its far-left wing base.”

Economic and Political Fallout

The White House asserted that the shutdown delayed critical economic data from the Bureau of Labour Statistics and other agencies, complicating the Federal Reserve’s decisions on interest rates.

“The Democrats may have permanently damaged the federal statistical system with October CPI and jobs reports likely never being released,” Ms. Leavitt said. “That leaves our policymakers at the Fed flying blind at a critical period.”

She contrasted the stalemate with Mr. Trump’s “clean CR,” which she said the administration had supported “from day one.”

“Our troops, air traffic controllers and federal employees will be back to receiving their regular paychecks,” Ms. Leavitt said. “Families in need will get back to receiving their food assistance, and the people’s government will soon be back open for business.”

The press secretary’s sharp rhetoric underscored how the shutdown had become a campaign flashpoint for Trump’s White House, which sought to turn public frustration into a political advantage.

“The Democrat shutdown was nothing more than a political stunt,” Ms. Leavitt said. “President Trump is ending it so Americans can get back to work and our economy can keep thriving.”

As she spoke, House Republicans moved to pass a stopgap funding bill that would allow Trump to sign legislation reopening the government the same night.

This article is published in an arrangement with 5WH.