US Senator James Lankford (R-OK) took to the Senate floor yesterday to call out Democrats for prolonging the government shutdown, now in its eighth day, and urged the Senate to pass a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government.
“We’re seven days deep into a government shutdown. What a ridiculous waste of time. What a painful, ridiculous waste of time for the nation. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is,” said Lankford. “Because I’ve been here long enough now to be able to see what the negotiations look like. Let me tell you what it has looked like for the last few years, even. Let’s go back just through the Biden administration – every single end of September, as we approached the deadline for government funding, this body had a conversation: Do we want to remain open and continue negotiating, or do we want to shut down?
“Every single time during the Biden administration, this body said it’s harmful to the American people and to federal workers to have a shutdown. Let’s keep things open and continue to be able to negotiate. So the end of every September, which is the end of our fiscal year, this body voted to keep the government open and to continue to negotiate.
“But what happens when the Trump administration comes? Well, during the Trump administration, Democrats have determined that they want to show they’re fighting and raging, that they’re the resistance against President Trump. And so, they determined the best way to do that is just to be able to shut the government down. The same effect happens for federal workers. The same effect happens for the nation. We have the same opinion across the world as the entire world looks at the United States of America, the greatest nation in the world, which is apparently not able to keep its government open, because my Democratic colleagues have determined they want to show that they are the resistance,” Lankford continued.
You can watch his full remarks on the Senate floor HERE.
