CHICAGO – The United States began its first federal government shutdown in almost seven years last night as Democrats and Republicans reached a funding stalemate.

Congress failed to pass government funding legislation Tuesday night, triggering temporary closures of many federal offices nationwide and forcing furloughs for nonexempt employees, further straining workers and the U.S. economy.

On Wednesday, Democratic Illinois lawmakers chimed in on the shutdown, casting blame on Republicans and the Trump administration.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker

Pritzker has not yet released an official statement on the shutdown but summed up his feelings with two posts on X.

The post read: “Let’s be clear: Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans forced a government shutdown tonight.

Rather than address the health care crisis that they created just earlier this year, they refuse to come to the table and do their jobs.

What happened to the art of the deal?”

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton

“Republicans in Washington refused to negotiate and demanded that Democrats rubber-stamp every reckless order from a wannabe dictator in the White House—they own every bit of pain this shutdown will cause.

Here in Illinois, more than 153,000 federal workers and their families will feel the immediate impact. These are real people with paychecks on the line—people who keep our airports safe, protect our communities, and deliver essential services every single day.

This crisis was deliberate: they tried to ram through devastating cuts to health care for working families. Democrats rightly rejected that false choice, and the fallout rests squarely shoulders of Congressional Republicans and President Trump.

The contrast couldn’t be clearer. The Pritzker-Stratton administration has delivered seven balanced budgets in a row, expanding access to health care and education while living within our means and putting people first.

Illinois will keep showing what responsible, compassionate governance looks like—and we’ll keep fighting for working families no matter what dysfunction comes out of Washington.”

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth

“Families are staring down a health care crisis of Republicans’ own making—and instead of working to save them from that pain and lower health care costs, Trump and Republicans are choosing to put them through a needless government shutdown. As even Donald Trump once acknowledged, ‘a shutdown falls on the President’s lack of leadership.’ And this is a lack of leadership of epic proportions.

In just a matter of weeks, families in red and blue states alike will see their health insurance bills jump up thousands of dollars. Hospitals will lose funding and be at risk of closure. Millions will be kicked off their coverage completely—all as a direct result of Trump’s inhumane and cruel policies, including his Big, Beautiful Betrayal. This urgency is exactly why Democrats repeatedly called on Republicans to work with us on a bipartisan bill that would have prevented the impending health care cost crisis and keep the government open. But when faced with a choice of ensuring our government works for the American people or not at all, Republicans shamefully chose not at all.

Republicans control the House, the Senate and the White House—and if they wanted to prevent these crises, they could. For the sake of America’s families, our economy and the entire nation, I hope they change their mind, put partisanship aside and come back to the table to work on a bipartisan solution that meets the needs of the American people and gets our government back to work for them. The longer they don’t, the more harm they’ll inflict on families across this country.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin

“Tonight, President Trump and congressional Republicans made clear they would rather shut down the government than address their looming, self-inflicted health care crisis.

Earlier this year, Senate and House Republicans jammed President Trump’s so-called ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ through Congress that cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid and will rip away health insurance from 10 million Americans to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy. Now, Republicans seem poised to allow out-of-pocket costs to skyrocket with their refusal to engage in negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year—all to placate the President. If Republicans allow these tax credits to expire, tens of millions of Americans will see their premiums go up and four million more will lose coverage altogether.

Republicans are fine with ballooning the national debt to make room for tax cuts for the rich but draw the line at extending health care to millions of middle-income families.

Democrats remain ready, as we have been for months, to come to the table to broker a sensible deal that addresses the Republican health care crisis and ensures the essential functions of government remain running on behalf of the American people, but Republicans have been unwilling to negotiate.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly

“Republicans are in charge of the White House, the Senate, and the House – but they are nowhere to be seen to keep our government open. Democrats have repeatedly offered to negotiate in a bipartisan manner to keep the government open while lowering the cost of healthcare. President Trump and his Congressional Republicans gutted Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion in his Big, Ugly Law, and millions of more Americans will experience skyrocketing premiums due to their inaction. Healthcare is a right – not a privilege for the wealthy few and well-connected. I will always choose to fight for healthcare over billionaires every time.”

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky

“As of midnight, the federal government has entered a shutdown. Republicans control the entire federal government — the Presidency, the Senate, and the House. This is an utter failure of Republican leadership — it will substantially impact our communities and our economy and will drive up health care costs for millions of people.

This shutdown was avoidable. It will hurt real people right here in the 9th District. Federal employees will miss their paychecks, families will experience delays in necessary services, and small businesses that rely on federal permits, loans, and contracts will suffer.

I will vote for a bipartisan, negotiated budget that not only protects the vital programs we depend on, like Medicaid, disaster relief, telehealth access, and food assistance, but also extends health insurance tax credits and protects Americans from price increases. However, I refuse to rubber stamp a Republican proposal that continues to give tax breaks to their wealthy donors while families pay more to visit the doctor.

If you are directly impacted by the shutdown or have any questions, my team and I are here to help. Do not wait to reach out to us. My Washington, D.C. and Skokie offices remain open and fully functional. You can call my DC office at (202) 225-2111 or my Skokie office at (773) 506-7100 with concerns or questions. I also have an FAQ page up on my website that you can view here. We are ready to do everything we can to help constituents get through this difficult time.

Now more than ever, we need stable leadership and a return to governing in good faith. I will keep fighting for you and your family, and I hope that together we can rise above partisan gridlock and get the job done the American people deserve and expect.”