House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Monday that Democrats will use the coming battle over government funding as a vehicle to block President Trump’s early efforts to gut federal programs — a warning that raises the chances of a shutdown in the middle of next month.

In a letter to House Democrats, Jeffries hammered the administration for issuing an order — since rescinded — to freeze federal aid that Congress had previously allocated. Jeffries suggested Democrats will oppose any federal spending bill that doesn’t explicitly prevent Trump from freezing, slashing or otherwise altering those programs, including Medicaid, which saw its services disrupted amid the chaos over the freeze.

The Democratic leader said he’s already delivered the message to House GOP leaders that, absent those assurances, Republicans will be on their own........

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