Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told Newsmax on Wednesday that he “can’t actually believe” that the government has been shut down because Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is “afraid” of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
“It’s a pretty simple choice that the Democrats had and still have — we’ll vote on it again today — which is to have this clean funding bill without any partisan riders a part of it or to shut the government down — and they’ve chosen the latter,” Schmitt said on “Wake Up America.”
“I think the real story here is why,” he said. “The reason why is that Chuck Schumer is afraid of AOC in a primary in a couple years, and the Democrats don’t have a leader, they don’t have a message, and the left is gaining more and more control of that party apparatus, and they’re afraid of their own shadow.”
The federal government entered a shutdown at 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday, following weeks of partisan gridlock in Congress over a continuing resolution to fund the government.
Republicans have labeled the closing of federal agencies “the Schumer shutdown” and are pinning the blame on Democrats for rejecting the “clean” stopgap funding measure passed by the House, while Democrats argue that the Republicans’ plan is unacceptable due to its failure to address the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Schmitt expressed hope that the Senate could pass a funding measure in the near future to reopen the government despite the current impasse.
“Hopefully, there’s enough Democrats that are maybe retiring or so-called moderate members that might come to their senses — that’s our best shot to get another five Democrats to come across, to get to 60 [votes], to get the government up and running,” he said.
“And then, of course, buys us time to continue to work on appropriations bills, which is the right process for us to proceed with. But right now, the Democrats have chosen to sort of take their ball and go home, and it’s going to have a big impact.”
Schmitt also said he supports the “Eliminate Shutdowns Act,” which he described as the “responsible kind of reform we need.”
“It’s a great bill because really, this is stupid, this idea that you get to Sept. 30, that the government completely shuts down,” Schmitt said. “What we ought to have is an automatic continuing resolution, as opposed to these kind of show votes and grandstanding, and that gives you time to continue to work on an appropriations process. … I think that’s the right approach.”
“I think people are tired of hearing about this stuff all the time, every six months or every nine months or something like that,” he added. “It’s just kind of stupid.”
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