With the longest government shutdown in U.S. history brought to an end late Wednesday, the major broadcast networks emerged Thursday morning amid gleeful Epstein files segments to cover the House vote, but returned to its past tactic of not blaming Democrats. In fact, ABC’s Good Morning America sided with Democrats in seething eight of their own party in the Senate and six in the House caved.
“Breaking overnight, after 43 days, the longest shutdown in American history ends...But many are still furious about the deal. Rachel Scott on the Hill questioning Democrats...What it all means for healthcare. Last minute add to the bill. When those government workers will see a paycheck after not getting paid for more than 40 days,” declared co-host and former Clinton flack George Stephanopoulos in a tease.
Senior political correspondent Rachel Scott quickly dispatched with the basics. Following three short sentences, Scott shifted to huffing “many Democrats [are] still furious that deal cut by eight Senate Democrats does nothing to address the expiring ObamaCare subsidies that the party spent 43 days fighting for.”
She was in concert with House Democrats in seething over the lack of a planned vote on the shutdown, only taking a brief stop over to mention one federal work harmed by the shutdown (click “expand”):
CONGRESSWOMAN PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): It’s a betrayal of working people who are seeing their health insurance premiums rise, double and triple.
SCOTT: So we asked some House Democrats why they voted for it anyway.
CONGRESSMAN DON DAVIS (D-NC): It was important for the American people for us to have this conversation and this battle’s not over. It’s not — it’s not over. People are hurting out there. I mean, they’re getting hit with cost.
SCOTT: But as of now, there’s no planned vote on healthcare in the House. After more than six weeks, the Congressional Budget Office estimating the shutdown cost the nation $11 billion. And this morning, hundreds of thousands of federal workers are being asked to return to work. They’ll soon get back pay. But federal contractors, like Willie Jo Price, are out of luck. She’s a cafeteria worker at the Library of Congress and has not been paid in more than 40 days [TO PRICE] How much stress, I mean, does this put on you to go this long without a paycheck?
WILLIE JO PRICE: It’s hard. In the process during this shutdown, my car broke down and it’s just been things going on and on and on. And I don’t have the finances to do it. Right now everything is, like, in the red.
SCOTT: So, as part of this law, the Trump administration is supposed to be rehiring thousands of federal workers that it fired during the shutdown, but it’s unclear when that will happen or how that’s gonna take place[.]
CBS Mornings and NBC’s Today weren’t apoplectic about the situation, but where they failed as not keeping up what they had established Monday in admitting Democrats caused the shutdown.
CBS co-host Gayle King was thrilled the shutdown was done:
[H]ave you heard? I know you have. The government shutdown is officially O-V-E-R over. After 43 days, the President signed a bill last night to reopen the government. Now, most Democrats, though, oppose this legislation because it does not address the rising health care costs. Nikole Killion is on Capitol Hill. Nikole, I know there’s a lot of relief, but there’s also a lot of frustration. Here’s the big question. How soon could things get back to normal?
Congressional correspondent Nikole Killion led with focusing on those harmed by the shutdown: “Thousands of federal workers are expected to be back on the job as soon as today and should get paid soon. Most SNAP recipients should see their benefits restored quickly and Smithsonian Museums here in the nation’s capital will reopen in the coming days.”
After noting “six Democrats cross[ed] party lines to join Republicans,” she added “[t]he measure extends government funding through January 30th, pays back federal workers while reinstating those who were fired and guarantees SNAP or food assistance benefits for a full year.”
Killion would only go as far as arguing “Democrats largely oppose[d] the legislation, arguing it failed to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits for 20 million Americans facing rising health insurance premiums.”
What she left out was that “oppos[ing] the legislation” would have meant the shutdown would have dragged on.
Chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes delivered her own report in the second hour that also didn’t weigh in on who was to blame (click “expand”):
DUTHIERS: All right, let’s begin this hour with the biggest, longest shutdown in government history. The President made it official last night. It’s a big relief for federal workers and most SNAP recipients could see their food benefits restored within about 24 hours. But though the shutdown is over, the blame game is not. Nancy Cordes has more from The White House. Nancy, Good morning.
CORDES: Vlad, good morning. It’s amazing how quickly things change. Now that that bill has been signed, the lights are back on, the government has reopened, and some federal employees and contractors are returning to work this morning. The bill passed by a narrow margin in the House last night, with six Democrats joining all but two Republicans in voting yes. The final vote, 222 to 209 and just before he signed the new funding bill into law, President Trump blamed Democrats for what he says was an extremely damaging shutdown for the country. Listen.
[TRUMP SOUNDBITE]
CORDES: The bill he signed funds the government through January 30th, so just two-and-a-half months. It includes language to reverse recent staffing cuts to guarantee back pay for federal workers and to protect against additional federal layoffs. A lot of Democrats are really upset that the bill doesn’t extend tax credits for 20 million Americans who are facing higher health insurance costs. Last night, President Trump said he would actually be willing to work with Democrats on health care, but then he said he still wants to end ObamaCare. He also said that voters should remember the pain of this shutdown when they head to the polls for the midterm elections next November[.]
In contrast, NBC’s Today was relatively ho-hum about it all and glad the government was reopened. That said, they didn’t explicitly blame Democrats.
Co-host Savannah Guthrie said at the onset that the bill “fully funds the federal government through the end of January,” but only is “a stopgap solution, and the ripple effects of the shutdown are still being felt this morning and, where else, the airports” as the airspace will take a few days to return to full song.
Capitol Hill correspondent Ryan Nobles reported “Congress has finally managed to find its way out of the wilderness after 43 days,” which was “a record no one wanted to break” and “Democrats did not have the votes to prevent the bill from being passed, but vowed to continue fighting for health care reform.”
“President Trump signing the bill overnight, blaming Democrats for the prolonged standoff...The bill passed 222-209, with six Democrats voting yes. Most Democrats voted no, accusing the President and congressional Republicans of ignoring a health care crisis by not addressing tax credits tied to the Affordable Care Act that are set to expire,” Nobles added.
Acknowledging “the battle also revealed deep division among Democrats,” Nobles showed good faith by placing that alongside Republicans, whom he said “are now ready to work to fix health care and address the expiring tax credits.”
However, it could all be for naught as “some swaths” of the government “are only funded through January.”
Senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson later reflected on the shutdown by emphasizing “[s]hutdowns are not popular generally” and “there’s some lingering frustration among some Democrats with the way that their party handled the end of this shutdown here.”
To see the relevant transcripts from November 13, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC).
