With a government shutdown looming, Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride turned to satire, releasing a video that skewered her Republican colleagues for being nowhere to be found as funding negotiations stalled.
Related: The deplorable way House Republicans are treating Rep. Sarah McBride knows no historical equal
“We’re barreling towards a shutdown. All my Democratic colleagues are here. I’m going to go search for my Republican colleagues,” McBride declared, striding through the marble corridors of Congress with her phone camera rolling.
The first-term Democrat poked around empty committee rooms, peeked behind curtains, and even checked inside a fireplace. “Are there any Republicans in here? Hello? Republicans? No,” she deadpanned. On the Capitol’s private subway, she quipped, “No Republicans on the train.”
Next, she’s standing on a broken escalator. “Does anyone know how to fix this thing?” she asked, as the video cut to a photo of the President, who, just days earlier, along with Melania Trump, was stranded on a stalled escalator at the United Nations General Assembly. Trump has since alleged “triple sabotage” of his appearance there after a White House-run teleprompter and an audio feed appeared to have technical difficulties.
Related: 'Have you no decency?': Republican calls Sarah McBride 'mister,' but Democrats wouldn't have it
McBride, the first out transgender person elected to Congress, has made humor a signature of her digital presence.
McBride eventually ran into Democratic Florida U.S. Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, who joined the act. “I’ve been looking too,” Frost told her. “They’re nowhere to be found.” McBride ended the clip with a pointed line: “We’re 12 hours away from a government shutdown, and Republicans are nowhere to be seen. They’re not serious about keeping this government open.”
The video highlights a serious reality: Without congressional action, the federal government is set to run out of money at midnight. According to ABC News, millions of Americans could feel the effects almost immediately. Up to four million federal employees would either be furloughed or forced to work without pay, including TSA agents, air traffic controllers, and active-duty military personnel. Federal contractors, including security guards and custodians, would be left without work or guaranteed back pay.
Programs that provide lifelines to vulnerable families would also begin to buckle. Funding for the Women, Infants, and Children nutrition program could dry up within days, leaving low-income families without assistance. While Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits would continue, the services that process claims, replace cards, or verify eligibility would slow, leaving recipients in limbo. Even the courts, although partially shielded, would face delays and staffing shortages if the shutdown were to drag on.
This kind of disruption is not new. The last government shutdown occurred in late 2018 and stretched into early 2019 under Trump’s first term, lasting 35 days—the longest in U.S. history. That impasse began over Trump’s demand for border wall funding and resulted in roughly $11 billion in lost economic output, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It was the second shutdown of his presidency; an earlier funding lapse in January 2018 lasted three days before lawmakers struck a short-term deal. Both episodes inflicted widespread uncertainty, from shuttered national parks to delayed paychecks for federal workers, and today’s looming crisis threatens to repeat that history.
Speaker Mike Johnson, the Louisiana Republican, has delayed House votes, effectively stalling negotiations, while Republicans have largely departed Washington. In the Senate, where Republicans are also in control, negotiations have also seemingly stalled, with Sen. John Thune, the Senate majority leader from South Dakota, accusing Democrats of acting in bad faith. Trump has publicly said the government will “probably” shut down, repeating a false claim that Democrats want to extend Medicare to undocumented immigrants. In reality, undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicare, Medicaid, or Affordable Care Act subsidies.
