Members of Colorado’s congressional delegation on Tuesday blamed their counterparts across the aisle for failing to avert the federal government’s first full shutdown in almost seven years.

Shortly before casting a vote against a Republican-led temporary spending bill to extend federal funding until mid November, Democratic U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper said the GOP is to blame for the looming shutdown.

“The Republican-controlled White House, Senate, and House of Representatives sat on their hands for weeks, refused to negotiate with us, and blocked our efforts to fund the government while lowering costs,” Hickenlooper said in a statement. “They are driving us straight into a shutdown.”

Democrats have been pressing Republicans to make concessions on health care spending before backing the GOP’s funding plan, warning that premiums will soar unless Congress extends tax credits to Americans who buy their insurance in the individual marketplace.

Hickenlooper’s Democratic colleague, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who also voted against the Republican bill, also blasted Republicans in a statement for snubbing what he termed “a commonsense budget proposal” to keep government open while preserving Affordable Care Act tax credits.

“At a time when people already struggle to pay rent and put food on the table, Republicans are putting families and small business owners across our state at risk of losing access to health care,” Bennet said. “It’s past time for Republicans to come to the table and have a real negotiation with Democrats.”

Republicans have rejected the Democrats’ proposals and instead maintained that the opposite party owns the shutdown.

Just three members of the Senate Democratic caucus crossed party lines late Tuesday to vote for a House-passed continuing resolution that would have continued funding the government, leaving the measure five votes short of the 60 votes it needed to overcome a Democratic filibuster.

U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, a Fort Lupton Republican, urged Senate Democrats on Tuesday morning to vote for the legislation passed earlier this month by House Republicans without any Democratic support.

“I’m calling on my colleagues in the Senate to pass the House’s continuing resolution instead of holding our government hostage over a wish list of radical spending demands,” Evans said in a statement.

At the same time, Evans notified the House that he wants to forego his paycheck until the impasse over government funding is resolved — a move made necessary since members of Congress otherwise continue drawing pay during a shutdown.

“As a public servant, I will stand in solidarity with my military brothers and sisters and other federal employees who will be without a paycheck until Democrats agree to open the government,” Evans wrote to a House administrative official.

While some government functions deemed essential will continue after the shutdown goes into effect, officials expect hundreds of thousands of federal workers to be furloughed on Wednesday.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank, a Colorado Springs Republican, said in a social media post that Democrats were responsible.

“I voted to keep the government open and accessible with the
@HouseGOP seven-week clean resolution,” Crank said on X. “Democrats are holding the government hostage because illegals won’t get taxpayer funded health care.”

Democrats and multiple fact-checkers disputed the Republicans’ talking point about health care funding for undocumented immigrants, noting that federal law prohibits such spending.

A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, a Grand Junction Republican, told Colorado Politics that the lawmaker wants Democrats to blink.

“Congressman Hurd is proud to have helped pass a clean (continuing resolution) and keep the government open,” Hurd’s office said in a text message.” He implores Democrats to stop playing politics with America’s fiscal health, and come together to keep our government open.”

U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, a Lakewood Democrat, said in a video posted online that members of her party are “holding strong.”

“If they need our votes, we need to have a bipartisan path forward, and that means fighting for the American people to have access to the critical health care that they so desperately need,” Pettersen said in a video filmed outside the U.S. Capitol.

Saying that Democrats are in Washington “ready to do the work to keep our government open,” Pettersen called it “unacceptable” that most of her Republican colleagues had gone home to their districts after the chamber’s GOP leadership cancelled votes this week.

“We’re here fighting for our kids, fighting for families, and we’re not going to back down,” she said.

After Tuesday’s vote, Hickenlooper also said he intends to stick to his guns.

“Democrats are ready to work with Republicans to lower costs and restore health care for millions of Americans,” Hickenlooper said. “Instead, Republicans rubber stamped an agenda that’ll make Americans poorer and sicker. We will fight to keep that from happening.”