MADISON (NBC 26) — Thursday marks day two of the partial federal government shutdown—and senate will not be in session, meaning there will be no opportunity for votes that could re-open the government.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin lawmakers are weighing in on the impact the shutdown will have and who is at fault.
During a visit to ADVOCAP, a nonprofit dedicated to providing services to low income families, in Oshkosh Wednesday, Governor Tony Evers expressed his concerns. "Anytime you see the federal government shutdown, that's a loss for us. I mean, we have a federal government for a purpose, and that's to do the work for the people of the country," Evers said. "Hopefully it's short lived and it doesn't impact organizations like this."
Republican Senator Ron Johnson spoke to reporters on Wednesday about the firing of federal workers and who is to blame. "I think you recognize the federal government is basically bankrupt, right? $37 trillion in debt," says Johnson. "We're running a deficit this year, $2 trillion somewhere around there. So in the private sector when you have a bankrupt entity, people get laid off. They have to find other jobs. So I can't really predict this. There's no reason for this shutdown whatsoever. This is being engineered by Chuck Schumer and the radical left. All they have to do is vote to pass the House continuing resolution this won't even happen."
When asked if he would be okay with federal employees being fired, Johnson stated "Again, that's what happens in the private sector all the time. I don't know why public sector employees ought to be immune from that process, but it's completely unnecessary."
On the flip side of the aisle, Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin took to social media. She made a post on X Wednesday saying, "Republicans felt so strongly that 15 million Americans shouldn’t have health care that they shut down the government." In a separate post, Baldwin adds "If Republicans can include tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy in the budget, then there’s no reason we can’t give hard-working families tax breaks to lower their health care costs."
At this point, it is still unclear how long this shutdown will last.
