State Department blasts Dems over shutdown, says national security at risk amid Senate battle

Speaker Johnson shares safety concerns as government shutdown drags on

Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram has the latest on lawmakers' finger-pointing and concerns over the government shutdown on 'Special Report.' 

FIRST ON FOX: Secretary Marco Rubio’s Department of State unleashed on Democrats over the federal government shutdown and revealed the hypocrisy of former State Department officials, noting how detrimental a shutdown is for the country. 

The federal government is nearing three weeks of being shut down as many government employees received a partial paycheck during the last pay period and face a full missed paycheck in the coming days. 

"President Trump is delivering historic peace deal after historic peace deal," State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News Digital. "Congressional Democrats are delivering a shutdown that undermines our national security."

'DEMOCRAT SHUTDOWN' WILL NEXT JEOPARDIZE US NUCLEAR STOCKPILE WITH IMMINENT FURLOUGHS: WHITE HOUSE

The Department of State noted national security risks that stem from the government shutdown.  (John McDonnell/Getty Images)

The holdup in Washington lies in the Senate, where Democrats are insistent that Republicans undo Medicaid policy changes that were signed into law under President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 

Senate Democrats will have to break ranks with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in order to break the 60-vote threshold required to pass a continuing resolution which would reopen the government through late November. 

"Congressional Democrats have decided to jeopardize our national security with their politically motivated government shutdown," a State Department official told Fox News Digital.

"Republicans on Capitol Hill are prepared to move forward with a clean continuing resolution, but instead, Democrats are trying to exploit this moment to push their political pet projects like healthcare for illegal immigrants, continuing wasteful COVID payments, and harmful climate extremism," the State Department official added.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks at the U.S. Capitol after the Democratic Senate Policy Luncheon on October 7, alongside Sen. Amy Klobuchar, as the government shutdown continues. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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Republicans currently hold 53 seats in the Senate, though Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., have crossed the aisle and voted to reopen the government in some of the previous ten failed votes. 

"By putting the American people last, Democrats are forcing the American people to have a State Department with limited diplomatic engagement around the world, significantly reduced communications, and disruptions that will impact U.S. foreign policy," the State Department official explained to Fox News Digital. "While we will undergo every possible effort to ensure critical missions continue, the Democrats’ obstruction will have serious impacts on the national security interests of the United States," the official continued.

Speaker Mike Johnson, left, and President Donald Trump, right, have taken different approaches to portraying the federal cuts amid the ongoing government shutdown. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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The State Department also noted commentary from previous administrations that undermines the Democrat messaging surrounding the shutdown. 

"A self-inflicted wound, like the shutdown that we just endured, can never happen again," former Secretary of State John Kerry said in Oct. 2013. "As President Obama said, the shutdown ‘encouraged our enemies…emboldened our competitors, and it depressed our friends who look to us for steady leadership."

"I believe that those standing in the way [of a resolution] need to think long and hard about the message that we send to the world when we can’t get our own act together," Kerry said of the 2013 shutdown. 

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Former Secretary of State and Democratic nominee for president Hillary Clinton also noted the detrimental effects of a government shutdown in 2013, saying that "the partial government shutdown is emblematic of too many people in politics choosing scorched earth over common ground."

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has criticized government shutdowns in the past.  (Getty Images)

"We can’t let partisanship override citizenship," Clinton said at the 2013 Sacerdote Great Names address.

Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who served under the Biden administration, said, "if we’re serious about U.S. leadership in the world, we can’t keep operating without knowing whether we’ll have a budget for the next fiscal year, forcing us to impose harmful cuts and hiring freezes," during spending battles last year."

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Another date has not yet been set for an additional vote on a continuing resolution to extend the funding of the government, though Senate Majority Leader John Thune said there may be additional votes held this week.

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on X @MizellPreston

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news.