President Obama slammed House Republicans on Tuesday, accusing them of shutting down the government over an “ideological crusade” on healthcare.
Speaking to reporters in the Rose Garden, an irate Obama placed blame squarely on congressional Republicans and said the shutdown did not have to happen.
The longer it continued, he warned, “the worse the effects will be.”
Obama also maintained that he would “not give in to reckless demands” from House Republicans to repeal or delay the Affordable Care Act.
“They don’t get to hold the entire economy hostage over ideological demands,” Obama said.
He characterized the shutdown as boiling down to Republicans efforts to roll back ObamaCare.
“This more than anything else seems to be what the Republican Party stands for these days,” Obama said.
“I know it’s strange that one party would make keeping people uninsured the centerpiece of their agenda but that apparently is what it is. And of course what’s stranger still is that shutting down our government doesn’t accomplish their stated goal.”
Contrary to Republican beliefs, Obama said, the healthcare law “hasn’t destroyed our economy.”
Obama also reiterated that he would not negotiate over raising the debt ceiling. The Treasury Department has said Congress must lift the borrowing limit by Oct. 17.
