by Melissa O’Rourke
Several Democratic governors are accused of weaponizing official state websites to pin the government shutdown on Republicans.
Government funding expired on October 1 after Democrats won the Senate blocked bipartisan, continuing resolution. Still, several Democratic-led states used official websites to frame Republicans as responsible for the shutdowns.
Pennsylvania, Illinois and California – all led by Democratic governors considered potential 2028 presidential candidates – released announcements this week suggesting the potential loss of benefits was due to Republicans’ failure to pass a budget.
⚠️ Official government website or Democratic campaign website? ⚠️
The AP Department of Human Services just posted this information on its official website, blaming Republicans for shutting down the federal government and withholding SNAP payments.
Taxpayer-funded agencies should never be used to… pic.twitter.com/y9UtcDHfGm
— PA GOP (@PAGOP) October 20, 2025
Senate Democrats on Monday rejected produced a financial pristine bill for the eleventh time under the leadership of the Republican Party, which resulted in the plant’s closure lasting a fourth week. Democrats have conditioned their support on about $1.4 trillion in fresh cross-purpose spending leftist prioritiesincluding measures to expand health care subsidies illegal immigrants and extend the COVID era Obamacare subsidies.
“Because Republicans in Washington failed to pass the federal budget, resulting in a federal government shutdown, SNAP benefits cannot be paid for November 2025.” – Pennsylvania Department of Human Services website reads.
The Pennsylvania GOP quickly called the governor. Josh Shapiro apologize, accusing his administration of politicizing public service announcements.
“Public service is not a political weapon,” the Pennsylvania Republican Party wrote in Letter X post on Monday. “Using a government website to fuel your partisan agenda is indefensible.”
Illinois SNAP portalunder the governor JB Pritzkerissued a similar warning saying benefits could be disrupted “if the GOP shutdown continues.”
“Illinois officials are parroting false arguments to cover for Senate Democrats like Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth who are blocking funding to advance their $1.4 trillion radical wish list,” Republican Mary Miller of Illinois told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “House Republicans have passed clean, bipartisan legislation to keep the government open and protect programs like SNAP.”
“The truth is that the only thing standing between families and their benefits is Democrat obstruction,” Miller added.
California Health and Human Services side attributed the closure to “the failure of the President and Congress to continue government funding.” Gov. Gavin Newsom of California agreed X Monday to say that the cut in federal funding is “devastatingly impacting working people, small business owners and families,” describing it as a “Donald Trump shutdown.”
Shapiro, Pritzker and Newsom’s offices did not respond to DCNF requests for comment.
Federal websites also posted closure notices blaming Democrats. The Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP, presented banner it reads: “Due to the closure of the Radical Democratic Left, this government website will not be updated during the funding lapse.”
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’s food stamp program, which benefits more than 40 million low-income Americans, will end in two weeks he said on Thursday.
“Democrats put free health care for illegal immigrants and their political agenda ahead of food security for American families” – Rollins sent on Thursday
Federal employees are arranged miss your first full paycheck on Friday. But so far, Democrats in Congress opposed a stand-alone bill to pay military and federal employees reporting to work during the funding lapse.
The main concern about the business shutdown concerns premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. Democrats want to extend these tax breaks, while Republicans have concerns about the potential waste, fraud and abuse associated with them.
Vice President J.D. Vance he said Face the Nation that “tax breaks go to some people deservedly, and we believe that tax breaks actually cause a lot of waste and fraud in the insurance industry.”
“We want to make sure tax breaks go to people who need them,” Vance added.
Tuesday marks the 21st day of the government shutdown, making it the second-longest government shutdown in American history.
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Melissa O’Rourke is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation. Zachery Schmidt is a digital editor Star News Network and contributed to this story.
“Gavin Newsom” photo by Gavin Newsom.
