GOP's latest government shutdown scapegoat: No Kings protests

Trump administration officials and Republican lawmakers are escalating blame for the government shutdown on Saturday's No Kings protests.Why it matters: The Trump administration has used the funding gap to gut agencies it labels "Democrat" and is now blaming protesters even as Republicans control Congress and the White House."I believe that the Democrats will come to their senses soon, maybe it's after this No Kings thing," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during a news conference Wednesday. "But No Kings equals no paychecks."White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said Democrats "are controlled by their radical left base" and doubled down on blaming the party for the government shutdown.Reality check: The Oct. 18 protest date was announced in September, nearly a month before the government shutdown began on Oct. 1.House Speaker Mike Johnson has kept the House out of session. As the shutdown entered its third week, Johnson said he wouldn't negotiate with Democrats.Congressional Democrats have refused to budge on the demand for renewing expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits in exchange for reopening the government."The Republican attempts to link anything about the shutdown to No Kings are transparently ridiculous," Leah Greenberg, co-founder of organizing group Indivisible, told Axios. "It's another sign that they know they're losing the thread on this." State of play: Trump officials have been using the government shutdown to cut staffing and eliminate parts of the federal bureaucracy.The administration said it ultimately plans to fire at least 4,100 employees across several agencies. The White House also threatened to withhold backpay for furloughed employees once the shutdown ends. Even before the shutdown, the White House discussed eliminating agencies that it doesn't have unilateral authority over. Driving the news: National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett scapegoated Democrats and the protesters for the ongoing government shutdown during an Axios News Shapers event Wednesday."The moderate Democrats are worried that if they open the government before then, then they'll run into all sorts of political risks of being primaried and so on," he said. "I don't know if it's true, but if it is true, then it means that maybe on the 19th, we can get this thing open as we should have all along."Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy claimed No Kings organizers were "running the show" in the Senate in a Monday interview with Fox Business Network's "Mornings with Maria."Catch up quick: GOP House leaders including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) called No Kings protests "a hate America rally." The bottom line: Greenberg, the Indivisible co-founder, said, "This is not a coalition that has a platform or a legislative agenda.""This is a coalition of people that came together to create the biggest possible tent of folks who are standing against authoritarianism, against corruption, against attacks on our neighbors and our rights."Go deeper: What to know about Oct. 18 "No Kings" protestsEditor's note: This story was updated with additional details.

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