Rep. Buddy Carter said Tuesday he expects Congress to move quickly to end the government shutdown, telling Newsmax he credits President Donald Trump with helping House Speaker Mike Johnson move closer to a deal.
"I think that we're going to be able to get this done today," Carter told Newsmax's "Wake Up America," while questioning whether Democrats will provide any support.
Carter said Democrats were repeating tactics he said they used during a prior funding fight, singling out Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
"Isn't it ironic that here we go again, just like back in the fall when the Democrats, Jon Ossoff, Chuck Schumer voted 14 times to keep this government closed?" he said.
Carter said the current dispute centers on immigration enforcement and homeland security funding.
"Now they want to stop ICE. They want to defund DHS," he said, adding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement "is there to help us" by removing "criminal, illegal immigrants."
Carter was also asked about election legislation as he campaigns for Georgia's Senate seat, and said he believes Republicans should press Democrats to publicly explain their opposition to the SAVE Act and voter ID requirements.
"I think we should call out Democrats and make them stand up and say our election integrity is not important," Carter said. "No, we have to have the SAVE Act. That's why it's so important for our election integrity."
Carter referenced Georgia's post-2020 election changes, saying the state Legislature passed the Election Integrity Act after "proving that, yeah, there were problems that needed to be improved."
He repeated his claim that Trump won in 2020 but "it was stolen from him," and said Congress should adopt national protections to prevent similar controversies.
Carter also said Republicans should secure concessions in any broader negotiations.
He described speaking with Democrat colleagues earlier Tuesday and said there is room to strike deals, even though he described Congress as "top-heavy," with decisions often made by a small group of leaders.
"We should be negotiating," he said. "Certainly Republicans need to be getting something out of this."
On immigration enforcement, Carter praised a move he said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has taken to deploy body cameras for ICE agents in Minnesota, calling it an area where both parties could quickly agree.
"Body cams actually help protect the ICE agents," Carter said. "We want to make sure our ICE agents, who are our heroes, who are working on the mission of getting rid of the criminal, illegal immigrants in this country, we need to make sure they have the tools that they need and everything that they need, including body cams."
GET TODAY NEWSMAX :
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight's special series and President Trump's comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX on your smartphone or home TV app.
Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.