Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, on Wednesday rejected the charge of Senate Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., that Republicans triggered a healthcare crisis through the government shutdown, telling Newsmax the solution is simple: Reopen the government, and stop diverting resources to cover illegal immigrants.
Jeffries, at a Capitol Hill news conference earlier Wednesday, accused Republicans of causing hospital closures and canceling medical research programs, including those tied to childhood cancer treatments.
"The Republican healthcare crisis is immoral in nature," he said, adding Democrats are fighting to "cancel the cuts, lower the costs, [and] save healthcare."
Husted countered on "American Agenda" that Democrats were the ones using the shutdown for leverage.
"If you care about the American people and serving them with healthcare, then open back up the government and get this going," he said. "That's the simple way to help solve the problem."
Husted argued Democrats want to reinstate policies that allow Medicaid dollars to subsidize healthcare for illegal immigrants, a point Democrats have disputed.
"They keep saying that's not true. That is absolutely true. Money was being diverted out of the Medicaid program," Husted said, adding that Republicans were working to fight "waste, fraud, and abuse" in health programs while President Donald Trump moved to lower prescription drug prices.
Husted also dismissed Jeffries' narrative of a Republican-triggered healthcare crisis, saying Democrats' "strategy has failed" and predicting the opposition party will ultimately relent.
"They are complaining and shutting down the government," he said. "Their strategy has failed. They will cave. And we need to get the government open again and begin to do the work of the American people."
The shutdown began hours after the Senate on Tuesday rejected a House-passed stopgap funding measure, falling short of the 60 votes required. Earlier Wednesday, the Senate again fell short of the 60-vote threshold.
Asked how long the shutdown might last, Husted said he remained optimistic. He pointed to defections among a handful of Senate Democrats and predicted more would follow as the effects of the shutdown mount. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., along with Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, joined most Republicans in support of the bill.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted against the measure both days.
"They've all taken positions in the past about how terrible it is to shut down the government — how irresponsible it is — and they're doing exactly what they said was the wrong thing," Husted said. "Eventually, the weight of what's going to happen in their states … will build up, and they will have to come to terms that they are on the wrong side of this discussion."
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