NEW YORK, CMC—Caribbean-American Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke on Thursday expressed alarm over the potential shutdown of the United States federal government, warning that her predominantly Caribbean district in Brooklyn and other New York City communities stand to lose over US$4.2 billion in disaster relief funding.
“It is clear, today, exactly who is pulling the strings of Donald Trump and his party,” Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), referring to US President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who injected hundreds of millions of dollars into Trump’s re-election campaign.
“With the collapse of our bipartisan agreement to fund the government, my district and other New York communities stand to lose US$4.2 billion in disaster relief funding programs that families depend on,” added the representative for the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn. “The well-being of working people, veterans, seniors, and small business owners will be heavily impacted, as federal agencies won’t be able to provide the critical services my constituents rely on.
“They may lose the vital assistance they need to feed their families; or, if they are essential workers like our TSA (Transportation Security Administration) agents, they will be forced to work without pay during the holiday season,” Clarke continued. “The American people do not deserve this, and it proves the Republican Party’s only priority is serving its masters, no matter who gets hurt along the way.
“Know that Democrats will remain united in our opposition to whatever chaos and division the GOP (Grand Old Party – Republican Party) hopes to sow within the legislative branch in the days ahead,” she said.
If the US Congress fails to reach a compromise agreement to keep the government open by midnight Friday, it could shut down.
Early Friday, Trump intensified his confrontation with his party’s legislators, demanding that the US Legislature suspend the debt ceiling.
“Without this, we should never make a deal,” he posted on his Truth Social media platform. “Remember, the pressure is on whoever is President.”
Late Thursday, Republicans turned down a Trump-backed proposal, which included suspending the debt limit for two years, failing to pass a spending bill to keep the federal government open.
Earlier on Thursday, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar held a press conference in Washington, highlighting that while Democrats and Republicans had reached an agreement to fund the government, House Republicans were “following orders to shut down the government and hurt the American people.”
“House Democrats met earlier today, and we are resolved to continue to stand up for the best interests of the American people,” Jeffries, whose 8th Congressional District in New York comprises large concentrations of Caribbean nationals in Brooklyn and Queens, New York, told the press conference.
He noted that House Democrats, House Republicans, Senate Democrats, and Senate Republicans had reached a bipartisan agreement to fund the government, prevent a shutdown, and meet the needs of the American people.
“We reached a bipartisan agreement that will help farmers, families, the future of working-class Americans, children, seniors, veterans, and the men and women in uniform all across the nation and the world,” he said. “That bipartisan agreement has now been detonated because House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government and hurt the very working-class Americans that many of them pretend to want to help.
“This is a moment that’s not about the incoming president. It’s not about millionaires and billionaires. It’s about the harm that House Republicans will do to the American people if the government shuts down,” Jeffries continued. “Families will be hurt. Farmers will be injured. Every day, Americans whose lives were turned upside down by extreme weather events like hurricanes, floods, and wildfires will be hurt if they don’t get the relief that they need and deserve to improve their quality of life.
“If the government shuts down, holiday travel will be impacted. The ability of everyday Americans to visit their family, friends, and loved ones will be impacted,” Jeffries warned. “Border security and border patrol agents will not be paid. TSA agents will not be paid. Small businesses will be hurt in every single community in this country.
“This reckless Republican-driven shutdown can be avoided if House Republicans will simply do what is right for the American people and stick with the bipartisan agreement that they negotiated,” he said.
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