Federal government shuts down amid looming health care crisis

As the government shuts down, hundreds of thousands of federal workers are being put on leave or will be forced to work without pay.

More than 80% of those workers live outside Washington, D.C., running the services we rely on—caring for our veterans, processing Social Security applications, keeping our food and water safe, protecting us at airports and responding during natural disasters. 

And last week, Project 2025 architect turned White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought threatened to illegally fire hundreds of thousands of those workers if Congress doesn’t cave to the Trump administration’s demands. 

The Trump administration wants to let out-of-pocket health insurance premiums for some 22 million people who get health care through the Affordable Care Act spike by 114%, just before open enrollment begins on Nov. 1. 

This fight is about letting the Trump administration allow insurance prices for ACA health care to more than double in just a few months, a crisis that would leave millions of people uninsured and raise prices for everyone, whether you get your insurance through the ACA or not.  

The same politicians who are responsible for the looming health care crisis are responsible for the government shutdown we’re now facing, which has been many months in the making. Rather than hold health insurance costs in check for working people and retirees, they’ve prioritized making billionaires even richer.

It's time to stop playing partisan games with our health, our jobs and our families. Congress should put working people first and end the shutdown by preventing health care cost increases, protecting jobs, and keeping critical services operational.