Today, U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) released his latest Mullin It Over column slamming Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats for holding the American people hostage on Day 23 of the Schumer Shutdown. He suggests a straightforward solution: re-open the federal government and stop the madness.
5 Democrats Could End The Schumer Shutdown In 5 Minutes
By Senator Markwayne Mullin
“As the Democrat Shutdown enters its third week, over 500,000 federal workers are preparing to not receive a paycheck on Friday, October 24th.
I have said this for years: nobody wins in a government shutdown. Shutdowns are costly, painful, and accomplish nothing. What’s worse, while Americans are losing access to critical services, American taxpayers are also footing a $400 million bill each day to pay 750,000 federal bureaucrats to sit at home and not work.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has told the media, “Every day gets better for us.” Just yesterday, the number two House Democrat, Rep. Katherine Clark, told press, “Of course there will be families that are going to suffer… but it is one of the few leverage times we have.” They’re saying the quiet part out loud.
Can you believe that? Every day the government is shutdown is a better day for the Democrats while their selfish shutdown continues to harm millions of Americans.
This Schumer Shutdown has major consequences. While Democrats are playing politics with your paycheck, the Lawton-Ft. Sill community is putting together food drives for our active-duty military families. Our service members should never fear losing a paycheck in the first place. What’s more, thousands of Oklahomans who rely on food stamp assistance (SNAP) to feed their kids could see an end to their benefits if the Schumer Shutdown drags on.
To be clear—we could end the pain and re-open the federal government in 5 minutes. I have voted alongside my 51 Senate Republican colleagues and 3 Senate Democrats to do the right thing and end the Schumer Shutdown. We’ve voted 12 times on the Senate floor. Unfortunately, it takes 60 votes—so we are at a stalemate. It’s all about the math.
But this is what happens when you have a liberal party run by a career politician, Chuck Schumer, who was fighting for the liberal agenda in the 1980s as a member of the House of Representatives—long before I even graduated high school. Insane.
For the Democrats, shutting down the government is not about fighting for the American people. It’s about pandering to the marxist and jihadist left that is now running their party.
I commend the men and women who continue to protect and defend our nation despite no guarantee of a paycheck from their Democrat elected officials. From our troops overseas, to the ICE agents on the streets, and the U.S. Capitol Police officers in Washington, D.C. Democrats owe it to them to do their job and stop this charade.
As I mentioned, we need 60 votes in the Senate to pass our clean, short-term, continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government while we work to complete our remaining appropriations bills. Democrats could help us re-open the government in literally 5 minutes if they cared about this country and our military families. Remember, this is the exact same CR, with the exact same language, that Democrats have voted for previously 13 times when Joe Biden was in office! But yet when President Trump is in office, they want to play politics.
I am grateful to the few Democrat Senators who continue to do the right thing and break from the craziness of their party to reopen the government.
Make no mistake, this is a DEMOCRAT shutdown. They are playing games and it must end.
Keep in mind, there are two main reasons why the Democrats chose to shut the government down: first, Schumer’s fear of losing a political primary to socialist AOC and second, a $1.5 trillion ransom demand—which includes $200 billion to give free taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal aliens. It’s that simple. They care more about Chuck Schumer’s Senate seat and illegal aliens than they do the American people. Republicans will not give an inch. No ransom payments, and no negotiation on policy until Senate Democrats release the hostages and end the Schumer Shutdown.
You’re seeing some Democrats try to refute the idea of taxpayer-funded benefits to illegals. It’s a sleight of hand play. While in office, Joe Biden WAIVED away illegal immigration status for millions and granted them parole and asylum. By unlocking “legal status,” Biden gave them access to free, taxpayer-funded health care, among other benefits. In July, Republicans put a stop to that ridiculous policy by passing the One Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBB). The OBBB put up common sense guardrails to ensure illegal aliens don’t get benefits meant for U.S. citizens. Democrats want to repeal that policy.
I am fighting every single day to get this government opened back up and paychecks out to hard working Americans. Despite every delay and Democrat lie, Republicans are united and committed to getting the job done.”
