Sen. Braun to Newsmax: Dems Using Shutdown as 'Lever to Get Us to Roll'

The government won't likely shut down because eventually, "all the balls that are up in the air" will work themselves out, but Democrats will likely use the threat "as a lever to get us to roll on some things," Sen. Mike Braun said on Newsmax Wednesday.

"In the past, it's been a divided government," the Indiana Republican said on Newsmax's "National Report."

"You kind of needed both sides to weigh in on lifting or suspending the debt ceiling and keeping the government financed through continuing resolutions."

The continuing resolutions that are under discussion now are the ones that should have been done almost a year ago, Braun added, and the public understands that.

"That's the insanity of this place," he said. "You're going to see since Democrats have teed up this crazy spending, Republicans have now had an epiphany that we need to hold the line. I'm glad of that."

Meanwhile, House Democrats are divided on how or if to pass the $1 trillion infrastructure bill. Progressives, led by caucus chairwoman Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., have made it clear that their primary objective is in passing the $3.5 trillion reconciliation plan before the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, and said this week that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi won't bring the bill to the floor if she doesn't have the votes to get it passed.

Pelosi has the infrastructure bill up for a vote on Thursday, and Braun pointed out that there are "so many moving parts" and the progressives will have to compromise a bit.

"You've got to remember the $2 trillion we did through the rescue bill was done with no Republican votes," he said. "This additional $4 trillion that's above and beyond our normal spending of $4.5 trillion a year, I think that you're going to find that Pelosi will get something done. There would be ultimate egg on her face, and I think she'll have to then start chopping at the top line."

He also noted that he would not be surprised to see the reconciliation bill pared back to "maybe $2 trillion," even with the House progressives pushing for the reconciliation bill to go through first.

"[Pelosi] is a realist," said Braun. "She's going to get something through and she'll start twisting arms to do it. It's just a question of when and how much you pare it down."

Meanwhile, Braun said he opposed the bipartisan infrastructure bill because it and the reconciliation bill were "connected at the hip all along."

Still, Braun said he'd agree to "assign odds of 60%, 70%, maybe close to 80" that something will come out of the House that Democrat Sens. Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema, who oppose the price tag on the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, can approve, rather than "the whole thing falling apart."

"That would be a calamity for them," said Braun. I don't think she [Pelosi] will let that happen." Meanwhile, the White House is continuing to insist that the bill, even if it's pared back, won't cost Americans anything and Braun said such comments come because "they're better at us in terms of using Madison Avenue kind of bylines."

"It's going to cost us in many ways," he said. "Inflation down the road is already here."

The measure will be paid for in part through higher taxes, Braun said, and as for the rest of it, "we're going to borrow most of the money for whatever they end up doing, which that's not out of the ordinary. We've all been doing that for decades."

However, it's a "false promise" to the public to say the spending bill will come without a cost, and the Democrats will blame Republicans for not raising revenues for it.

"They know most of that wouldn't be endorsed by many in their own party," he said. "It's just going to be interesting to see how it does stumble across the finish line when they had such grand plans as recently as a couple of weeks ago."

Meanwhile, the matter gives Republicans "all kinds of opportunity" to win back both congressional chambers in 2022 and the presidency in 2024, said the congressman, but the party "needs to do some soul searching on how to better articulate our own message."

After that, the party must be concerned about what they'll do if they win, "or do we morph back into being part of the problem," Braun concluded.

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