Reporter's Notebook: White House pounces after top Dem says government shutdown gives party 'leverage'

Senate Republicans challenge Democrats with bill to pay essential federal workers during shutdown, sparking heated political battle over government funding priorities.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., arrives for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, April 3, 2025 (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

House Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., conceded to Fox News in a now-viral clip that there will be "families that are going to suffer" because of the shutdown but added that "it is one of the few leverage times we have." 

Karoline Leavitt pounced, saying Democrats "admitted" to inflicting pain and asking, "What’s wrong with them?" 

Clark fired back, accusing the White House of "spinning the conflict" and inflicting "trauma" by firing workers. 

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However, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., called out his own party on Fox News' "Hannity," saying, "I am a country over party guy ... It's wrong to shut our government down."

Chad Pergram currently serves as a senior congressional correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/reporters-notebook-white-house-pounces-after-top-dem-says-government-shutdown-gives-party-leverage