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Tags: jim banks | government | shutdown | military | economy | chuck schumer | democrats

Sen. Banks to Newsmax: Military Members, Local Economies Will Soon Feel Shutdown's Effects

By    |   Thursday, 09 October 2025 11:01 AM EDT

Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., used his appearance on Newsmax's "Wake Up America" to issue a stinging rebuke of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats over the ongoing government shutdown — and to spotlight the looming consequences it will have for military members, their families, and the small businesses that depend on them.

"Chuck Schumer last night told reporters that the shutdown is going really well for Democrats, but how foolish of a statement to make like that when our troops are going to start missing paychecks on Oct. 15, just a few days away from now?" Banks said Thursday.

He expanded on the harsh consequences service members are likely to soon feel, illustrating how out of touch he believes the Democrats' strategy has become.

"I mean, it's astonishing how tone-deaf these Democrats are that they think that the politics is good for Democrats, but it's bad for the enlisted 23-year-old sailor who is trying to feed his young babies and take care of his family, who can't afford to live, who's already living paycheck to paycheck," Banks said.

"[He] can't afford to miss that paycheck on Oct. 15 because Chuck Schumer shut down the government playing politics."

Banks warned that no group would feel the impact more sharply than service members themselves.

"It will hurt nobody more than our service members across the entire military who are serving all over the world, who put on the uniform," he said. "They're going to start missing paychecks, and they're going to feel the pain from that."

But the ripple effect, he argued, extends well beyond the military bases and out into the communities that surround them.

"Who else would be impacted would be all those communities where there are military bases, all those small business owners, those restaurants and shops in small towns or wherever there is a military base in the United States of America," Banks said.

"They rely on their customers who serve in the military; they're going to be hurt, too, because of Chuck Schumer and these Democrats shutting down the government."

Local economies built around military installations rely heavily on predictable incomes for soldiers and officers; when pay slips vanish, so too do their patterns of spending.

To avert this looming crisis, Banks called on Senate Democrats to abandon partisan brinkmanship and support a stopgap government funding bill.

"So, hopefully, five Democrat senators will come to their senses today and join Republicans to pass this short-term, seven-week continuing resolution to reopen the government," he urged.

"That's the right thing to do. Democrats still have time to do it. Today's the day to do it. I'm still hopeful that will happen."

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Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., issued a stinging rebuke of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democrats over the ongoing government shutdown and to spotlight the consequences it will have for military members, their families, and the small businesses that depend on them.
jim banks, government, shutdown, military, economy, chuck schumer, democrats, consequences
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2025-01-09
Thursday, 09 October 2025 11:01 AM
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