Summary
- GOP
blames Schumer, Democrats for prolonging shutdown. - Accuse
Schumer of caving to far-left spending demands. - Schumer
said shutdown situation politically improves daily for Democrats.
For Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, there’s no end in sight.
“It’s like the game room in a mental hospital. That’s
what the Senate is like right now,”
Kennedy said Sunday on “One
Nation with Brian Kilmeade.”
“I’m prepared to just stay shut down. I’m sorry for all
the pain it’s causing.”
Both Kennedy and House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise,
R-La., lamented Sunday that the side effects of the shutdown are going to be
painful for the American people.
They also accused Schumer of putting his own self-interests
above the country’s well-being.
“Our military’s not going to be paid for a while,”
Kennedy noted.
“Really, the pain that it’s causing the American people
breaks my heart, but I don’t know what else to do. They [Democrats] basically
want us to repeal the one big, beautiful bill and spend $1.5 trillion, and… we can’t
just give the loon wing of the Democratic Party, $1.5 trillion… I’m not going
to vote to do it.”
Appearing on “Sunday Night in America,” Scalise
echoed other Republicans who have argued that Schumer is refusing to cave out
of fear for his political future.
“Chuck Schumer’s fear… is the far left, it’s the AOC
wing of the party. In fact, our polls show AOC would beat Chuck Schumer in a
primary, and that seems to be all he cares about: his political future,”
Scalise said.
“He surely doesn’t care about the lives of American
families, our soldiers, our men and women in uniform who will not get paychecks
next week because of this crazy move to shut down the government by
Schumer.”
Additionally, Scalise contended that while American troops
and families are facing missed paychecks, Democrats had obstructed the
House-passed budget plan in order to advance what he called “a wish
list” of unrelated spending, including new programs and support for
noncitizens.
Meanwhile, Schumer and a number of his Democratic colleagues
maintain that the closure is the fault of Republicans.
“IT’S MIDNIGHT. That means the Republican shutdown has
just begun because they wouldn’t protect Americans’ health care. We’re going to
keep fighting for the American people,”
Schumer posted on social media as
the shutdown began.
The government shutdown reached its thirteenth day on
Monday, and as both chambers continue to be mired in a partisan impasse on
priorities and spending, there is no apparent end in sight.
What concessions Republicans are demanding to end the
shutdown?
Republicans insist Democrats approve the stopgap spending
measure passed by the House, which funds government operations mostly at
current levels through November 21, giving lawmakers more time to negotiate
broader budget agreements.
GOP leaders refuse to agree to Democratic demands to extend
expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits and Medicaid funding, which Democrats
prioritize to prevent insurance premium increases.
Republicans seek to maintain tighter control over federal
spending, reject large spending increases, and oppose expansions in social
benefit programs.
