Last night, Donald Trump once again put his politics of obstruction and fear ahead of a functioning government, and could once again bring Virginia’s economy to a screeching halt.

Statement from Dr. Ralph Northam on Trump’s Threats to Shutdown the Federal Government

Richmond — Dr. Ralph Northam released the following statement on Donald Trump’s threat to shutdown the federal government if funding is not secured for a border wall with Mexico:

“Last night, Donald Trump once again put his politics of obstruction and fear ahead of a functioning government, and could once again bring Virginia’s economy to a screeching halt.

“Unfortunately, Virginians know what it’s like to feel the pain of a government shutdown — paychecks were delayed, families were forced to go without the services they depend on and businesses across the Commonwealth took a hit. In 2013, Virginia’s revenues fell by 4.5 percent during the government shutdown — and that is something we don’t want to have to revisit again in 2017.

“Putting rigid ideology ahead of the American people and ahead of Virginia’s economy is reckless, and using the shutdown as a bargaining chip is irresponsible. Our leaders in Washington must come together and agree on a bipartisan compromise to not only avoid a government shutdown, but to maintain the upward mobility in Virginia’s economy.

“If Ed Gillespie continues to refuse to denounce the politics of President Trump — then Virginians will know loud and clear that Gillespie is not willing to put our commonwealth’s economy before Trump’s political tactics. The people of the commonwealth know that you can’t lead with obstruction, and instead, we must oppose Donald Trump when his policies hurt Virginia and continue to make progress everyday.”