'I don't look at this as politics': Kaine pressed on what Democrats have gained from shutdown [View all]

Source: ABC News

November 2, 2025, 11:14 AM


As the negative impacts of the 33-day government shutdown compound, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine said Sunday he doesn't see the present funding impasse in terms of politics, insisting what Democrats are "focused on is the American people." Asked by ABC's "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz what Democrats have gained since the shutdown began, Kaine said, "Well, I don’t look at this as politics."

"I mean, the president told the House, do a budget and, in his words, don’t deal with Democrats. So, Senate Democrats put an alternative on the table 12 days before Sept. 30 that fixed the health care wreckage that the Republicans caused and that ensured that a deal would be honored, both by Congress and the White House. The president refused to meet until the day before the deadline," Kaine continued. "The guy's unserious."

Raddatz followed up to press Kaine: "Not talking about politics. What have Democrats gained during this period? And how long can this last?"

"I'm a United States senator," Kaine said. "And I -- yes, I run as a Democrat, and I'm a Democrat, but I just don't approach my work that way. So, when you ask what Democrats have gained, what we're -- what we're focused on is the American people. We want President Trump to stop firing people, canceling economic development projects. We want them to stop raising everybody's costs." Kaine said Democrats want Trump to "simply sit down" and negotiate a "budget deal that puts us on a path to a health care fix."

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/kaine-calls-virginia-best-red-blue-turnaround-us/story?id=127105367