The White House on Thursday accused Democrats of using a CNN town hall to deflect from their role in the ongoing government shutdown. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) appeared on the network Wednesday night amid the funding impasse.

In a statement, the administration said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and other Democrats have refused to pass funding legislation ten times. President Donald Trump has signed executive orders and emergency directives to ensure service members and recipients of nutrition assistance continue receiving pay and benefits during the shutdown.

As previously reported byThe Dallas Express, Trump on Tuesday issued a presidential memorandum instructing the Secretary of War to use existing funds to guarantee troop pay during the lapse in government funding.

Democrats have threatened legal action against Trump’s emergency measures — a move the White House called “hypocritical” as federal workers miss paychecks.

During the CNN event, the White House said Sanders “struggled to explain” his support for the shutdown, noting he had previously called such funding lapses “a serious and dangerous action that we must do everything possible to prevent.”

An audience member confronted Sanders about Schumer’s earlier opposition to shutdowns. The White House said the Vermont senator “was left stuttering” in response.

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When a bartender told Sanders she might lose her dream home due to USDA loan delays, he blamed Trump. The White House countered that the woman’s mortgage approval is stalled because Democrats “deliberately shuttered the government.”

Ocasio-Cortez told a TSA employee that “the best thing that we can do is to re-open the government.” According to the White House, she “did not acknowledge Democrats’ role in blocking funding bills.”

An air-traffic controller asked how Democrats expect workers to buy food without paychecks. The White House characterized Ocasio-Cortez’s reply as “a rant lacking substance.”

The statement said the lawmakers “all-but-admitted they have no substantive answer” for what Democrats are demanding in exchange for funding.

Sanders also criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations during the town hall, calling the raids “a movement toward authoritarianism.” The White House said those operations “target some of the most dangerous criminals on earth.”

The shutdown, now in its third week, has left hundreds of thousands of federal employees without pay while negotiations between the two parties remain at a standstill.