President Donald Trump in low-profile mode on Day 1 of government shutdown
President Donald Trump, on Day 1 of the first government shutdown of his second term, remained out of sight, holding no public events Wednesday.
Trump, who presided over three partial government shutdowns during his first term, instead opted to weigh in on his Truth Social platform, accusing Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, of supporting "Healthcare for Illegal Aliens."
He appeared to be referencing an exchange between Waters and a reporter for the pro-Trump outlet LindellTV, who asked Waters on the steps of the U.S. Capitol this morning if Democrats were "demanding health care for illegal aliens?" according to a Yahoo News report on the exchange.
Waters chided the reporter, telling her: "You’re trying to make me say that somehow we are going to put non-citizens over Americans. Quit it! Stop it."
"We want to save health care for all people," Waters said.
Congressional Democrats are seeking concessions for their support of a short-term spending bill, demanding congressional Republicans extend a soon-to-expire expansion of the Affordable Care Act that lowered health care premiums for millions of Americans.
Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for federal health care programs like Medicaid and Medicare, but congressional Republicans have attacked Democrats for proposing the restoration of eligibility for those with temporary legal status including refugees and asylees.
Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.
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