Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., said the House Democrats "are in disarray" over the looming specter of a government shutdown in the coming days.
"It would be the worst thing politically" for the Democrats, Loudermilk told Newsmax Tuesday afternoon, while appearing on "John Bachman Now" with hosts John Bachman and Bianca de la Garza.
"Even a 24-hour shutdown would prove to the American people that Democrats cannot run this country," said Loudermilk, while adding that Democrat insiders "are already anticipating a 'red wave' in November, so they don't want anything to make it worse."
"If [Democrats] were smart, they'd just do a clean CR [continuing resolution]" to fix the impending budget dispute, which would expedite a government shutdown, said Loudermilk, who oversees the 11th Congressional District in Georgia, covering a large swath of north Atlanta territory.
Instead, Loudermilk said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., could engineer some short-term fix, which might ultimately solve nothing in the long term, just so the Democrats can "kick the can down to December, so they can arm-twist everyone on the threat of being [in congressional session] during Christmas."
As Newsmax chronicled on Monday, the Senate Democrats released a short-term government funding bill, or continuing resolution, that includes permitting reform submitted by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.
Congress must pass the CR by midnight Friday to avert a government shutdown and keep open the government past the midterms to Dec. 16.
A continuing resolution "just continues the existing funding levels" for current military projects, said Loudermilk.
It doesn't include the requisite funds or high-level authorization needed for new weapon systems, which Loudermilk said are "crucial" for staying competitive throughout the world.
"We [in Congress] always wait until the last possible minute" before rumored shutdowns, lamented Loudermilk.
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.