Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is in "hot water" within his own caucus and with the American people, and eventually his colleagues will see the light and vote to reopen the government, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said on Newsmax Wednesday.
"They know this was not the right decision, and eventually I believe they will come to their senses and we can work to come together to do the work of the American people," she told "National Report."
Britt further argued that Democrats are letting political animosity drive their decisions, and said the American people know the shutdown is about Schumer's politics and his reelection bid.
"It's a sad day for America," she said. "But we're going to keep working. We're going to put those votes on the floor. And eventually I think we have enough pragmatic, common-sense people that will keep the will of the government and open it again."
Britt also criticized Democrats for demanding $1.5 trillion in exchange for seven weeks of funding, calling the proposal "absolutely ridiculous," and accused them of being controlled by their party's left wing.
"They've let the far left wing of their party start to drive the agenda," she said, adding that it's a "dark day" in Washington, D.C., because the "shadow of" Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who is reportedly considering a challenge against Schumer for his Senate seat, "looms large" over him and Senate Democrats.
Schumer's claim that Republicans were spreading falsehoods in the budget fight is also not true, Britt said.
"This is not a failed negotiation," she said. "This is a CR that Senate Democrats voted for 13 times under President Biden. The only difference we have right now is who's in the Oval Office."
Britt, a member of both the Senate Appropriations and Judiciary committees, said Republicans have already shown progress on government funding.
"We passed three bills on the Senate floor for the first time — this is before the August state work period — for the first time since 2018," she said. "Do you know how many bills we passed in the entirety of Chuck Schumer's last fiscal year, that he was the leader? It's zero."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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