White House Updates Official Comment Line to Accuse Democrats of ‘Holding Government Funding Hostage’ (Video)
“We Look Forward to Taking Your Calls as Soon as the Government Re-opensâ€
The official White House comment line is being utilized for a partisan attack on Democrats amidst the government shutdown.
“Thank you for calling the White House,†an operator advises. “Unfortunately, we cannot answer your call today because congressional Democrats are holding government funding, including funding for our troops and other national security priorities, hostage to an unrelated immigration debate.â€
“Due to this obstruction,†the operator continues, “the government is shut down. In the meantime, you can leave a comment for the President at www.whitehouse.gov/contact. We look forward to taking your calls as soon as the government re-opens.â€
Listen:
saw this going around and wanted to check for myself: here’s the message you hear today when you ring the White House comment line during the shutdown pic.twitter.com/sCquYj0XnX
— David Mack (@davidmackau) January 20, 2018
The White House comment line can be reached at (202) 456-1111. NCRM independently verified that the voicemail is still being played today, the second day of the government shutdown.
Early Sunday, Donald Trump proposed that Senate Republicans change the rules and enact the “nuclear option†to end the stalemate in Washington. The Senate vote for the continuing-resolution which would have funded the government for four weeks, however, was not a party-line vote: five Democrats voted in favor of the bill, four Republicans voted against it.
As some have noted:
Using the White House message line for political attacks is an alarming breakdown of norms. These violations are so frequent and pervasive–and exhausting–it sadly pales in comparison with more egregious ones. But do remember: This is not normal. And not acceptable.
— Steven Beschloss (@StevenBeschloss) January 21, 2018
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