More blame would go to GOP than Democrats over shutdown: Poll

Republican lawmakers would get a larger share of blame for a government shutdown than their Democratic counterparts if lawmakers don’t come to an agreement, a poll released Tuesday found.

The NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, conducted last week, found that 38 percent of respondents would blame Republicans, while 27 percent would blame Democrats and 31 percent would fault both sides. Just 4 percent of respondents would blame neither party. 

The poll results come hours before the midnight Wednesday deadline to avert a government shutdown. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters that he expects the body to start voting Tuesday evening on competing Republican and Democratic proposals to fund the government. 

The Republican proposal, deemed “clean” and “nonpartisan” by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), would extend government funding through Nov. 21.

The Democratic proposal would do so through October, permanently extend the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) premium subsidies and restore nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts. 

The ACA subsidies are due to expire at the end of this year, with health insurance premiums for millions expected to increase if they are not extended.

The funding proposals are expected to fail, with each side pointing fingers at the other. 

President Trump told reporters Tuesday that if Democrats don’t vote for the GOP-backed proposal, his administration could make cuts to certain government programs. On Monday, Vice President Vance told reporters the country is “headed to a shutdown because the Democrats won’t do the right thing.”

But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) have been aligned in arguing that Republicans are not negotiating in good faith. 

That difference is partially reflected in the new poll.

Among Democratic respondents, 66 percent of those polled would blame Republicans for a shutdown, while 10 percent would blame their own party and 23 percent would blame both. 

Meanwhile, more than half of Republican respondents — 56 percent — would fault Democrats, with 16 percent blaming the GOP and 25 percent faulting both. 

While 41 percent of independent respondents would blame both sides for a shutdown, 36 percent would blame Republicans and 19 percent would blame Democrats.

The poll included 1,477 adults and was conducted Sept. 22-26; it has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

Source: The Hill