Press Releases

Congressman Morgan Griffith voted on January 18, 2018 to fund the government  and avoid a shutdown. He issued the following statement today about President Trump’s handling of the #SchumerShutdown:

“Today, President Trump had to start dealing with a government shutdown. I commend him for recognizing there are many tools available to the executive branch to ease the difficulties arising from a government shutdown.

“In 2013, shortly after the government shut down began, President Obama closed the Mall, the World War II Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., and parks around the country, including the Blue Ridge Parkway. President Obama shamefully denied veterans taking Honor Flights access to their war memorials.

“Today, President Trump kept the Mall open and did not disrupt the Women’s March, a group well known to despise the President. If President Trump had mirrored his predecessor, that march would not have been allowed to take place and Washington, D.C. would have been thrown into an unnecessarily chaotic situation.

“Further, President Obama shut down the Blue Ridge Parkway, and his Administration even placed law enforcement officials to block people going to private businesses off the Parkway, notwithstanding the fact that those businesses actually generated money for the Federal Government. It’s a beautiful day in Southwest Virginia, and because President Trump is acting presidentially and not politically, you can take a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway if you wish.

“If this shutdown brought about by the actions of Senator Schumer and his Virginia allies, Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, continues, President Trump will be forced to make some tough decisions, but he has already shown that he is less likely to play partisan political games during this shutdown than did his predecessor, President Obama.

“I don’t always agree with what he tweets and says, but thank you, Mr. President, for not using the Blue Ridge Parkway and this country’s veterans as pawns in a political game.”

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