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Partisan shutdown spin twists facts and ignores inconvenient truths

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., pauses after talking to reporters following a closed-door Senate Republican strategy luncheon as the government shutdown heads toward a second week, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By Lindsey McPherson - The Washington Times

The partisan messaging campaigns about the government shutdown unleashed a whirlwind of political spin where obfuscation and twisting of facts are clouding several inconvenient truths about the partisan impasse.

States are increasingly dependent on federal dollars and increasingly at the mercy of Washington

In this file photo, trays of printed Social Security checks wait to be mailed from the U.S. Treasury's Financial Management services facility in Philadelphia on Feb. 11, 2005. (AP Photo/Bradley C. Bower) **FILE**

By Mallory Wilson - The Washington Times

States are more dependent on the federal government than ever before, with Uncle Sam providing twice as much revenue as he did 35 years ago — making them more vulnerable to volatility in Washington.

In this file photo, trays of printed Social Security checks wait to be mailed from the U.S. Treasury's Financial Management services facility in Philadelphia on Feb. 11, 2005. (AP Photo/Bradley C. Bower) **FILE**

States are increasingly dependent on federal dollars and increasingly at the mercy of Washington

By Mallory Wilson - The Washington Times

Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk, arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool) **FILE**

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People talk at a merchandize store displaying a figure of NBA basketball game Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, in Beijing, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before signing an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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A person looks out a window from the Capitol to the Supreme Court on the ninth day of the government shutdown in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

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By Sean Salai - The Washington Times

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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before signing an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Trump says live hostages will be freed next week

By Mallory Wilson - The Washington Times

A person looks out a window from the Capitol to the Supreme Court on the ninth day of the government shutdown in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

D.C. businesses expect prolonged economic slump as federal layoffs unfold

By Sean Salai - The Washington Times

In this file photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, staff members work in an inflatable COVID-19 testing lab provided by Chinese biotech company BGI Genomics, a subsidiary of BGI Group, in Beijing, June 23, 2020. (Chen Zhonghao/Xinhua via AP, File)

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Republican Jack Ciattarelli stands before the final debate in the New Jersey governor's race, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in New Brunswick, N.J. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

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Republican Jack Ciattarelli stands before the final debate in the New Jersey governor's race, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in New Brunswick, N.J. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

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In this Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018, photo, a group of anti-fascist and Black Lives Matter demonstrators march in front of the Rotunda on the campus of the University of Virginia in anticipation of the anniversary of the previous year's Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) **FILE**

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Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk, arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool) **FILE**

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