The country could face another damaging government shutdown if Senate Democrats don't learn from their actions last time and refuse to cooperate on pending spending bills, Rep. David Kustoff told Newsmax on Tuesday.
The Tennessee Republican told Newsmax's "Wake Up America" he "sure hope[s] not" when asked whether another shutdown is looming.
He said, "This [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer shutdown last year, which lasted 43 days, impacted a lot of my constituents, it impacted a lot of various central government employees — including law enforcement, the military, air traffic controllers, the TSA agents. It was harmful. And the Democrats to a whole decided to shut down the government."
Kustoff said House Republicans are moving forward on appropriations, stressing that progress is already underway. Of the 12 required spending bills to fund the federal government, he said six have already passed the House.
"We hope to vote on two more, maybe this week, maybe tomorrow, and try to get the rest of them done before Jan. 30," Kustoff said. "But we'll see what type of cooperation we get from the Democrats."
He urged Senate Democrats to learn from the political and economic fallout of the last shutdown and cautioned that Schumer's leadership choices would determine whether the government remains open.
"Hopefully, they learn the lesson from what they did in October and November," Kustoff said. "But we'll have to see how Sen. Schumer wants to lead, and whether he wants to lead his Senate Democrats down that path to shut the government down again."
Kustoff also discussed the fraud scandal in Minnesota, calling it "severe" and demanding greater accountability from state leaders.
Kustoff said the scope of the alleged fraud warrants congressional scrutiny and called on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to testify before Congress.
"The American people are entitled to hear from not only Gov. Walz, but the attorney general of Minnesota," Kustoff said. "Let's let everybody ask the questions they want to ask. Let's shine a bright light on what's happened in Minnesota, because ultimately, it's the taxpayers' money."
Kustoff suggested the issue extends beyond Minnesota, noting that the administration has identified multiple states where similar problems may exist, and said congressional oversight is necessary to restore public trust.
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.