Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., on Tuesday accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Newsmax of bowing to the Democratic Party’s extreme left, saying the push for a government shutdown stemmed from Schumer’s desire to win their favor.
“We just took our last vote of the day. There will be a shutdown,” Kennedy told “Rob Schmitt Tonight.”
“Everything happens for a reason. But sometimes the reason is you’re stupid and you made a bad decision. And my Democratic colleagues have made a very, very bad decision here.”
Kennedy criticized Democrats’ funding demands, which he said total between $1.2 trillion and $1.5 trillion.
“They’re demanding, for example, that we not check people on Medicaid for eligibility by income. Just let anybody sign up who wants to sign up.
“They’re demanding that we give free healthcare to foreign nationals who are in our country illegally. They’re demanding that taxpayers pay for sex-change operations,” he said.
Kennedy said the Democrats’ proposals were never meant to be taken seriously.
“They know it’s an unserious proposal. They know we’re not going to accept it. That tells me that this decision to shut down government is not based on policy, it’s based on politics,” he said.
“The loon wing, the socialist wing of the Democratic Party, does not like Sen. Schumer, and he wants them to like him. He wants them to love him,” Kennedy said. “They have asked that government be shut down. And Sen. Schumer has agreed.”
Kennedy warned that reopening the government would be difficult once a shutdown begins.
“Once you shut down government, you’ve got to figure out how to get it back open,” he said. “A wise person once said, if you pray for rain, you got to be prepared to deal with the mud. And I don’t know how they’re going to deal with the mud because we will never, never, ever agree to this list of demands.”
In a follow-up exchange, Kennedy dismissed Democrats’ defense that the standoff protects healthcare coverage.
“What? Americans have lost their healthcare? None. None. I mean, it’s all make-believe. It’s all play acting.
“We’re enforcing the provisions with respect to Medicaid, and they want us to rescind that and just allow anyone who wants Medicaid to walk in and say, I qualify, give me free healthcare. That’s what they’re asking us to do. That’s not going to happen in your or my natural lifetime,” he said.
Democrats have said they are seeking to restore $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts passed in the summer and extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Schumer, speaking earlier Tuesday on the Senate floor, said Republicans bear responsibility for the impasse.
“They call it clean, we call it extremely partisan,” Schumer said.
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