Nikki Haley Says Possible Government Shutdown Is ‘Irresponsible’

Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley speaks at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 12, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Sept. 25 told lawmakers that if the federal government shuts down, it would be “irresponsible and inexcusable.”

Her comments came as the House and Senate face a Sept. 30 deadline to pass bills to fund the government over the next fiscal year. So far, the House has passed one of the 12 appropriations bills, while the Senate hasn’t taken up any on the floor.

“I’ve talked to all of Congress saying it is irresponsible and inexcusable that you would let [the] government shut down. It is also irresponsible and inexcusable to not cut all of the spending,” Ms. Haley told Bloomberg on Monday.

The former South Carolina governor blamed the shutdown on the failure of lawmakers, saying they shouldn’t get their paychecks if the federal government is shut down.

“We have to go back to ‘no budget, no pay.’ If Congress can’t produce a budget, Congress doesn’t get paid,” Ms. Haley said. “We should not be in this scenario. But because they wait and they don’t work, and they don’t produce results, we end up in the same situation over and over again.”

She said she hadn’t talked to the House leadership but stressed that a government shutdown would harm taxpayers.

“This is going to harm taxpayers. It’s not about the party. Taxpayers already can’t afford groceries and gas; they can’t afford buying a home or buying a car. And now you’re gonna say: ‘Oh, we can’t figure it out. We’re gonna shut down [the] government.’ That’s not okay. You don’t get to do that. Instead, you have to start cutting what you spend.”

The first Republican presidential debate took place at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Aug. 23, 2023. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Surging Poll Numbers

The Republican presidential hopeful’s comment came ahead of the second debate of the 2024 race, which is scheduled for Sept. 27.

Seven contenders are qualified for the GOP’s second debate. Aside from Ms. Haley, the Republican National Committee confirmed that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum meet the requirement to participate in the second debate.

Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination in polls, will again skip the event. Instead, he plans to travel to Detroit and give a speech to the striking automakers.

A new poll released on Sept. 25 shows President Trump is still the favorite in New Hampshire. Forty-five percent of likely Republican primary voters say they support President Trump, according to a poll by the Saint Anselm College Survey Center at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.

But Ms. Haley now edged out Mr. DeSantis for second place. The poll shows Ms. Haley’s share of the New Hampshire primary vote reached 15 percent, 4 points clear of Mr. DeSantis for third.

The former United Nations ambassador’s surging poll number is not limited to New Hampshire. In Iowa, Ms. Haley is at 11 percent in a Fox News survey released on Sept. 20, compared to 5 percent in July. A recent CNN/SSRS survey showed that Ms. Haley beats President Joe Biden in a hypothetical matchup.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley delivers a speech on her economic policy at the New England Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire, on Sept. 22, 2023. Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Ahead of the second debate, Ms. Haley rolled out her economic proposal, which included cutting income taxes for the middle class, eliminating federal gas and diesel tax, and protecting Social Security and Medicare recipients. In a remark unveiling the plan on Sept. 22, she told voters that she would use her veto power as president to stop “any spending bill that doesn’t take us back to pre-COVID spending levels.”

“Americans are tired of working for Washington. It’s time for Washington to start working for us,” Ms. Haley told her audience at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, according to her campaign website.

“I’ll make Washington work for you, not the other way around. The American people are the only ones who will out-compete—and ultimately defeat—Communist China.”