In Shutdown Spin, Republicans Are Pretending They Care About Mothers on WIC Now -

House Republican leadership held a pretty maddening press conference Thursday morning trying to place the blame for the shutdown on Democrats.

Their spin du jour involved accusing Democrats of taking the government hostage, trying to appease the “radical left” corners of their party, and claiming that Democrats are attempting to take money from rural hospitals to give “illegal aliens” free health care. The line about Dems wanting to give undocumented immigrants free health care is spun out of Democrats’ requests to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that will expire in December and restore Medicaid coverage that was drastically cut when Republicans passed their sweeping “big, beautiful” bill this summer. And it’s simply not true.

But the most galling part of the presser was Republicans’ newfound fixation on mothers who rely on federal nutrient assistance programs like WIC to feed their children — the types of social safety net services and programs that Democrats champion and that Republicans have been hellbent on gutting for decades.

In a call with House Republicans on Wednesday, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought warned that money for WIC was about to run out due to the shutdown. The talking point clearly resonated with members of the Republican conference. At today’s press briefing, Republican leadership brought up the nutrition program for low-income moms and babies to further demonize Democrats, whose votes they need to reopen the government.

“So, I ask Democrats, are you okay with this? Are you okay with mothers unable to get milk for their children? Answer that questions, Democrats,” Chairwoman of the House Republican Conference Lisa McClain (R-MI) said. “Because with your ‘no’ vote, you are voting for mothers on WIC not to be able to feed their children.”

It’s all bluster and lies.

The original House Republican budget proposal for what would become the “big, beautiful” bill included cuts to WIC which would’ve resulted in $1.3 billion in fruit and vegetable benefits being taken from some 5.2 million women and children who participate in the program, according to an early estimate from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. While WIC was ultimately not cut in the final Senate version of Trump’s budget bill, some of the cuts to nutrition assistance and health care programs included in the legislation have made it “harder for families to access essential programs like WIC,” according to the National WIC Association, which put out a statement condemning the legislation when it passed the Senate in July.

“While WIC is not directly cut in this package, the program does not operate in a vacuum. Adjunctive eligibility for WIC is tied to participation in Medicaid and SNAP,” Georgia Machell, President and CEO of the National WIC Association said at the time. “Any policies that restrict access to those programs will, in turn, create additional barriers to WIC enrollment.”

— Nicole Lafond

Americans Blame Trump for Shutdown

The Washington Post conducted a poll on Wednesday, texting a 1,010 “nationally representative” pool of Americans to ask for their feedback on the shutdown:

The Post’s poll finds significantly more Americans blame President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans for the shutdown than Democrats, though many say they are not sure. People express moderate concern about the shutdown’s impact at this early stage, with “somewhat concerned” the most common answer. A large majority support Democrats’ call to extend federal health insurance subsidies in general, though just under half support the party demanding this if it extends the government shutdown.

— Nicole Lafond

Movement on the National Guard Front

A few things happened Thursday in the various challenges to the National Guard occupations:

The Trump administration used the shutdown to try to freeze D.C.’s case against the occupation. D.C. contested it, writing: “Courts in this Circuit have routinely denied the government’s requests to stay time-sensitive proceedings during prior lapses in appropriations.” Judge Jia Cobb denied the request late Thursday afternoon.
The judge overseeing the challenge to the occupation in Portland, who is an Obama appointee, recused himself from the case at the Trump administration’s behest. Judge Michael Simon wrote that while he “does not believe that recusal is required under either federal law or the Code of Conduct for United States Judges,” focus must remain on the questions presented by the case. The administration had pointed to the comments of Simon’s wife, a Democratic representative whose seat includes parts of Portland, opposing the deployment. The case, as Trump’s luck will have it, was then randomly reassigned to a judge he appointed.

— Kate Riga