Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has criticized Democrats for declining to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government open without conditions.

“I call it the ‘Seinfeld’ shutdown because it’s a shutdown about nothing,” the California Republican told CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett. He was referencing the common joke that the seminal sitcom *Seinfeld* was a “show about nothing.”

McCarthy contrasted the current impasse with the situation in 2013, saying it is “the reverse [of] where Republicans were,” when some GOP lawmakers pushed for a spending bill that would roll back the Affordable Care Act, while Democrats advocated for a “clean” bill to fund the government. That standoff led to a 16-day government shutdown before Republicans ultimately conceded to Democrats.

This year, the roles appear reversed. Republicans are pushing for a clean bill to keep the government open at existing spending levels. Meanwhile, Democrats are demanding extensions to expiring health insurance subsidies and a rollback of Medicaid restrictions passed earlier this year.

Democrats argue that immediate negotiations over health insurance tax credits are crucial to prevent millions of people from facing higher premiums. Republican leaders say they are open to negotiating on health care — but only after the shutdown ends.

McCarthy accused Democratic leaders of “trying to find a message” and being “fearful” of their party’s rank-and-file members. He also noted a key difference from prior funding fights: the country is now more divided, with each side blaming the other, making it difficult to pinpoint who is responsible for the stalemate.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kevin-mccarthy-seinfeld-shutdown-trump-democrats/