Arlington, VA – Today, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) released a new digital ad, titled “Leverage,” exposing Democrat leaders admitting to using the pain caused by the government shutdown on military families, air traffic controllers, and many others as “leverage” for their political games.
As Congress heads toward the longest government shutdown in American history on November 5, Democrats continue to reject every effort by Republicans to reopen the government. Despite voting for a clean Continuing Resolution (CR) 13 times under Joe Biden, Senate Democrats have now voted 13 consecutive times against a clean resolution passed by the House and supported by Senate Republicans to end the government shutdown.
Kent Strang, Managing Director of Americans for Prosperity, issued the following statement:
“Instead of doing what’s right for the American people, Democrats have dug in their heels for political theater demanded by their radical base. We’re looking at the longest shutdown in American history all for political leverage. They don’t have the votes to pass their extreme policies, so they’re making Americans feel the pain. How much longer will Democrats stand by leadership that continues to put polling ahead of paychecks?”
Here’s what Democrats have to say in the video:
Rep. Katherine Clark, Second in Democrat House Leadership: “Of course there will be families that are going to suffer… it’s one of the few leverage times we have.”
Sen. Chris Coons: “Frankly, this is our only moment of leverage.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders: “And you re-open the government… we lose our leverage.”
Rep. Emilia Sykes: “We know that people are going to suffer if we don’t open the government. I’m just going to make it as plain as possible, people will go hungry.”
Late September, AFP released polling conducted by YouGov finding Americans overwhelmingly oppose government shutdowns and do not want to see them used as a bargaining tactic. Now heading into the 5th week of the Democrat-driven government shutdown, AFP continues to urge Democrat Senators to break from their leadership to support the clean funding legislation that advanced through the House of Representatives and reopen the government as soon as possible.
© 2025 AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. | PRIVACY POLICY
Receive email alerts to learn how to get involved
