Senate GOP Leader Accuses Democrats of Endangering Americans with Government Shutdown

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Wednesday that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is “testing the GOP’s resolve” by keeping the government closed. He warned that the continued shutdown is harming millions of Americans. On “American Agenda,” Cornyn urged Democrats to act swiftly to end the stalemate. The senator emphasized that the shutdown, now stretching into its 36th day, has inflicted needless pain on people across the country. “More and more people are being hurt,” he said. “Millions of people whose supplemental nutrition has been jeopardized, their food stamps. Many, many more inconvenienced because of delays at airports, and, unfortunately, safety problems in terms of our aviation. And a lot of federal employees, of course, haven’t received a paycheck.” Cornyn placed the blame for the ongoing shutdown on Schumer, accusing him of prioritizing politics over governance. He argued that Schumer is more focused on appeasing the “radical base” of his party than on solving the problem. Cornyn also defended the Senate filibuster amid calls to scrap it through funding bills, stating that ending it would enable Democrats to impose sweeping reforms. “Without the filibuster, they would make the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico states, each with two new Democratic senators,” he said. “They would take over the election system and eliminate things like voter ID, and they would undermine the Second Amendment and expand abortion rights across the country.”