The Price of Gridlock: Indian Country Pays for Liberal Senators’ Political Games

The political games in Washington have ended, but our communities are left paying the price.

The recent, needless government shutdown lasted over 40 days. This crisis was entirely avoidable. On September 30, liberal senators had the chance to pass a clean, straightforward funding bill to keep the government open. They refused. Instead, our communities were forced to watch as they held more than a dozen failed votes. Here in the Southwest, Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego voted to keep the government closed. New Mexico Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján did the same, withholding the votes needed to reopen our government.

The damage was immediate and severe. Hundreds of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) employees were furloughed, forced to go about two weeks without the paychecks they earned. Critical grant funding for tribal programs was frozen. SNAP benefits, which put food on the table for families, were jeopardized. Even airline operations faced delays, further isolating communities.

Perhaps most shamefully, the shutdown directly attacked our children’s education. A report from the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools (NAFIS) confirms that delayed Impact Aid payments destabilized our schools. This aid is not optional; it is the lifeblood for schools on Indian trust lands. Because those payments were held hostage, districts were forced to make painful, irreversible decisions. The NAFIS survey showed schools had to cut programs, freeze hiring, and drain their emergency reserves. One Arizona school business manager reported holding off on essential bus maintenance. A Montana superintendent put it bluntly: “Without Impact Aid, school closes”.

Those cuts were made. Those programs went unfunded. That hurt is real.

We must be clear: our communities, our federal employees, and our children were used as political leverage by liberal politicians. This is, unfortunately, a familiar story. When Washington shuts down, Indian Country pays the price. This shutdown strained the already-thin reserve funds for many tribes, and it is how the federal shutdown impacts Indian Country every single time.

This was a partisan-driven crisis. As reports from the White House documented, liberal senators and their allies openly viewed the suffering of citizens as “leverage” in their sick political game. They held our earned benefits hostage to force taxpayers to pay for free healthcare for illegals.

While our BIA employees were left without pay, we are thankful that President Trump was able to secure funding for our troops so that they did not miss a single paycheck. We support our veterans, and we are glad to have a President who supports them.

We need conservative leadership that respects our sovereignty and understands that federal obligations are not bargaining chips. We appreciate leaders who fight for a more affordable, secure life for all citizens. Native American voters will remember who stood with them, and who had no problem using their benefits as leverage.

The shutdown is over. The damage is not. Remember this when elected leaders on the Left ask for your vote.