“Democrats don’t want to disappoint the radicals who are descending upon this city next weekend … They’re calling the tune, and we see the Democrats dance. Not for the American people, but for the far-left wing of their party.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, today spoke on the Senate Floor to expose how Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is appeasing the demands of far-left activist groups while Americans continue to suffer the consequences of the Schumer Shutdown. 

Click HERE to watch Senator Barrasso’s remarks.

Sen. Barrasso’s remarks as prepared:

“Today is day 14 of the Schumer Shutdown. And Democrats continue to betray the American people.

“Let me read some of the headlines I’ve seen over the last several days.

“The Military Times writes: ‘Military families seek out food assistance amid shutdown anxiety.’

“An Axios headline warns that there could be ‘insufficient funds for food stamps.’

“A local New York TV station reports: ‘Government shutdown threatens food access for Long Island’s most vulnerable.’

“And The Wall Street Journal reads: ‘Thin Air-Traffic-Staffing Spurs Delays at U.S. Airports.’

“Anxiety, concerns about food, concerns about our airports. These are real life impacts of the Schumer Shutdown, and the pain is getting worse each and every day.

“What does Senator Schumer do? He treats it as a game – a game. Lives are in the balance. He treats it as a game. He bragged about shutting down the government – bragged about it. It was carefully planned. And in a carefully planned interview with Punchbowl News, he gloated, he said, ‘Everyday gets better for us.’ That’s what Schumer said, ‘Everyday gets better for us.’ Who is the ‘us’? Certainly not the American people.

“The Washington Post pointed it out – this is a dangerous political game. Because it really matters to the American people. Even though it may just be a game being played by the Democrats in this body.

“You take a look at this and say, ‘Whose lives are getting better every day?’ Certainly not the lives of the men and women in uniform, who are worried about their paychecks. They’re the ones who protect our country. It’s not our Border Patrol Agents. Oh no, it’s not getting better for them each and every day. They’re busy keeping out illegal immigrants. It’s not the air traffic controllers who keep our sky safe. No, it’s not getting better for them each and every day. It’s not the military families who are lining up at food banks. Oh no, it’s not getting better for them every day. So, I ask again, when Chuck Schumer tells the press, ‘Every day is getting better for us,’ whose lives are getting better by what he is doing and the Democrats are doing to the American people? Whose lives are getting better every day because of the Schumer Shutdown?  Not the American people.

“It’s fascinating. You know, when we talk to people at home, they’re concerned about what’s happening to their lives during the time of a government shutdown. They’re not worried but are concerned about what they see happening here in Washington. Where they see the Democrats beholden to the far-left radical, extreme, dangerous, scary, wing of the party. That’s what’s happening in this body. You look across the aisle, we see an entire group of Democrats being held hostage. Who is this group? Well, it’s the Marxist, anti-ICE, anti-America wing of the Democrat Party that are controlling the party. The ‘us’ the Minority Leader is talking about are them. That’s who he is talking about. They’re running the Democrat Party right now. And in the process they’re running our country into the ground.

“In the same interview that Senator Schumer gave last week to Punchbowl News, when he said everyday it’s getting better for them, he also said, and admitted, he said, ‘We thought about this long in advance.’ The far-left wing of the party, long in advance, planned for this shutdown, and they did it with Chuck Schumer in his office. They organized a war room. They orchestrated this shutdown that brought all of this pain on the American people. The Minority Leader handed the reins to that far-left wing, and now they’re riding the stagecoach, and they’re driving the stagecoach over the cliff. It’s a mistake, and it’s an error, and it’s hurting the American people, and they don’t seem to care because they’re treating it as a game, even though it’s a dangerous game, as The Washington Post points out.

“So, what does all this mean in this big political game? One person is really trying to save their own hide, and we know that’s the Minority Leader. Especially as we get closer to this radical rally that’s scheduled in Washington on October 18. Democrats don’t want to disappoint the radicals who are descending upon this city next weekend.

“This is the far-left activist group, it’s called Indivisible. You may have heard of them. This is what one of the organizers of the radical rally had to say – the head of the group clearly exposed their threat to the Minority Leader. He said, ‘Millions will be out cheering you on – or they’ll be calling for new leadership.’ And they’re controlling the party.

“They’re calling the tune, and we see the Democrats dance. Not for the American people, but for the far-left wing of their party. And they’re holding the reins. They’re telling the Minority Leader, ‘You keep this shutdown going or you pack up your office and leave.’ They don’t seem to care that the American people are suffering. Not one bit. What we see is the Minority Leader playing politics and choosing politics as a game over doing what’s right for the American people. And the Democrats are playing a dangerous game, and it’s hurting all of us. Why are they playing the game? Because one of them is trying to use it for political gain.

“We can end this shutdown today. We’re going to have a vote this afternoon and an opportunity to end the shutdown. To end the pain, end the suffering end the anxiety the American people are feeling. When I say the American people, I’m talking about American citizens all around the world defending us, keeping us free. All we’re asking is for a vote on a clean continuing resolution. The Democrats did it 13 times when Joe Biden was in the White House. They’re not willing to do it now because they have an organized, orchestrated plan to shut down the government, and keep it shut down. Some Democrats have voted with us. We’ve had a bipartisan group. We had 55 votes. We need five more Democrats. I don’t expect the Minority Leader to ever join that group to open the government, ever, no matter how obvious it is, how necessary it is, how much pain he is causing. But that’s what we have and we’re facing today.

“We have a chance this afternoon, 5:30 this afternoon on a vote of this body to pick up and pass a bipartisan bill, continuing resolution, that they’ve done 13 times in the House and the Senate when Joe Biden was president. Yet the Democrats in this body have been voting no – time after time after time.

“We need a few more Democrats, a few who care more about helping the American people than they do about helping the Minority Leader. He has a political disaster on his hands. That’s not a problem for all of us, but we’re suffering the consequences of the toxicity of that position of the Minority Leader within his own party and his effort to try and find absolution at a time causing significant pain, grief for the American people who are struggling to get by – facing a loss of paychecks, a loss of nutrition, a loss of care for their children, a loss of help for small businesses. You can go down the list.

“All of this could be resolved today with a simple vote for a continuing resolution to open the government once again. That’s what we should do today. That’s the right thing for this body, and the right thing for our country.”

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