NEW YORK, United States (CMC) – Caribbean-American Democratic leaders on Wednesday blamed President Donald Trump and Republicans for the ongoing United States (US) federal government shutdown.

“From the moment Donald Trump took office, he and his administration have been on a relentless crusade to make this nation less affordable, less equitable, and less like the America we love with all our hearts,” Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

“This ongoing government shutdown is simply the culmination of those efforts so far.”

“The American people are not fools,” added the representative for the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York. “They see that Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House, and they know the responsibility to fund the government is on the majority’s shoulders. If Republicans cannot keep the government open without Democratic votes, they should have a meaningful dialogue with our leaders rather than insult them with crude, racist caricatures for applause on social media.”

“The Democrats started this fight united against Republicans’ cruelty, and we will remain united until that cruelty is defeated,” continued Clarke, who also chairs the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). “We will not accept any outcome that allows countless Americans to lose their healthcare, and we will not accept any outcome where working people pay more so billionaires can pay less.”

“We are facing a healthcare crisis manufactured by the Republican Party — marked by the largest proposed cuts to Medicaid and Medicare in our nation’s history,” she said. “Once again, it is Black communities who stand to suffer the most.”

Clarke said the CBC will not support any spending bill that strips healthcare from millions, slashes federal jobs, and drives up the cost of living for working families.