U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand blamed the federal government shutdown solely on President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress in an angry Wednesday morning press conference.

The last-minute online presser, strangely for politicians, began early. However, the gist was clear: Gillibrand is frightened about Republican health care tax credit cuts that she says are holding back a deal.

“It’s about families choosing between rent and health care,” said the Democratic Senator. “To my Republican colleagues, let’s get back to the negotiating table.”

Gillibrand said the GOP claims that “Obamacare” tax credits are susceptible to fraud. She claimed there is no evidence of that.

The Republicans control Congress but don’t have enough Democratic votes for a budget deal. Gillibrand explained why she was voting against the GOP proposal.

“I’m voting against this budget right now because Republicans and Trump are about to do massive tax hikes on our health care bills,” she said.

“I don’t know how long this shutdown is going to last. … I don’t know what will get them back to the table,” Gillibrand added. She said it would probably take outrage directed at Republican politicians by their constituents.

Gillibrand later added that she hopes New Yorkers represented by Republicans in Congress will call them to demand they make a deal with Democrats.

She repeatedly called Trump and Republicans “unconscionable” for their policies.

“Many families live paycheck to paycheck. They’re absolutely being screwed… it just shows (Trump’s) disregard for working people,” Gillibrand said.

The senator was asked about the shutdown’s impacts on New York. “The impacts are horrific. Working people will not get paychecks,” including the military and VA workers, she said.

Republicans point to Democrats causing the shutdown, as Washington’s eternal “blame game” continues. Gillibrand turned that around to blame Republicans.

“This shutdown is entirely theirs,” she said. Democrats have “very reasonable requests” but Republicans in Congress are refusing to engage, she said.

Instead, Republicans engage in “government by fiat” and “won’t sit down and negotiate with us on a bipartisan bill,” Gillibrand declared.

She ended the press conference by calling out Chautauqua County’s representative in Congress, Nick Langworthy, for his reported stance that he would be open to health care negotiations in the future.

“We need talks now. Get to the negotiating table now. Protect your constituents now,” she said, after calling him “full of it.”