Trump threatens to use shutdown to cut ‘popular Democrat programs’

President Donald Trump said Thursday that his administration plans to use the ongoing government shutdown to permanently cut government programs popular with Democrats, his latest threat amid a funding impasse.

“We’re only cutting Democrats’ programs,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting at the White House.

While it wasn’t immediately clear what programs Trump had in mind, he noted that they were “very popular Democratic programs that, frankly, are not very popular with Republicans.”

“They wanted to do this,” Trump said, blaming Democrats for the shutdown.

“They’ll get a little taste of their own medicine,” he added.

The president’s threat to target Democratic priorities comes a week after he first floated the idea of ​​inflicting pain on political rivals during the shutdown, which is now in its ninth day.

Last Thursday, he said cutting congressional funding gave him an “unprecedented opportunity” to cut off what he described as “Democrat Agencies.”

On the first day of the shutdown, the Trump administration announced that it was freezing approximately $18 billion in funding for New York City’s infrastructure projects and canceling approximately $8 billion in climate-related funding for Democratic-leaning states.

The administration is considering canceling an additional $12 billion earmarked for clean energy projects. Semaphore It was reported on Tuesday.

The shutdown began Oct. 1 after Republican and Democratic congressional leaders failed to pass appropriations bills that would keep the government funded through the end of the fiscal year.

Republicans want to pass a temporary measure to keep funding largely at current levels through Nov. 21. Democrats say any funding bill must include additional health protections, including an extension of premium Affordable Care Act tax credits before they expire at the end of the year.

Duel proposals have repeatedly failed to pass the Senate.

This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.