Arizona Republicans Celebrate End of Government Shutdown

U.S. Capitol

The longest government shutdown in American history has come to an end after 43 days, and Arizona's Republicans, including Representatives Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), and Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ), are celebrating.

This week, President Donald Trump signed a new continuing resolution (CR) that extends government funding until January 30th as Congress continues work on more definitive spending bills.

The extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, which were the key point of contention between Senate Democrats and Republicans, ultimately did not make it into the new CR.

In a statement, Rep. Biggs commented that "[Democrats] shut down the government, held Americans hostage, and walked away with nothing," calling it "the same deal that was available before their shutdown stunt began." "The Left's political stunt accomplished only one thing: it reminded the country that Washington Democrats will always put power and partisanship above the American people," he added.

Rep. Crane similarly suggested that "The American people should never be used as leverage to advance a political agenda," expressing admiration for the federal workers who "dealt with missed paychecks, worked without pay, and lived with great uncertainty."

Rep. Hamadeh was the most critical of Democrats, saying that "the Democrats' disgusting shutdown was only about attacking President Trump. They didn't care if Americans were collateral damage." He shared that he is "energized" because "we know we have our work cut out for us as the nation recovers from the Democrats' misguided shutdown." "As a result, we are going to be working overtime to ensure that we minimize the damage the Democrats created," he concluded.

Rep. Ciscomani emphasized how the new CR "ends the shutdown for thousands of federal employees, SNAP recipients, and others who rely on a functioning federal government — and it delivers real wins for Arizona's Sixth District, including over $340,000 for the Oracle Fire District."

Grayson Bakich

Florida born and raised, Grayson Bakich is a recent recipient of a Master’s Degree in Political Science at the University of Central Florida. His thesis examined recent trends in political polarization and how this leads into justification of violence.