Sen. John Cornyn told Newsmax on Tuesday that Democrats are driving the federal government toward a partial shutdown to score political points against President Donald Trump, at the expense of the American people.
"If Democrats want to shut down, it's because they want to demonstrate to their political base that they're fighting President Trump," the Texas Republican told Newsmax's "American Agenda." "Unfortunately, they picked a fight with 320 million people, known as the American people."
The government faces a shutdown at midnight Wednesday, unless the Senate passes a short-term continuing resolution. The House on Sept. 19 narrowly passed a GOP-backed CR to fund the federal government through Nov. 21. That bill now faces resistance by Senate Democrats. Cornyn warned the Senate has just one last chance to pass that House CR — likely in a vote later Tuesday — if it wants to avert a shutdown before the deadline.
Cornyn criticized Democrats for insisting that the funding measure undo Trump administration reforms, particularly recent Medicaid cuts and a $50 billion rural hospital stabilization fund. Cornyn argued that Democrats not only want to restore subsidies under Obamacare but also redirect federal dollars to cover healthcare for illegal immigrants.
"I represent a big state with a lot of rural areas," he said. "Getting access to healthcare in rural America is a real challenge. Democrats don't care, and they want to take that away."
Cornyn also accused Democrats of refusing to accept the results of the 2024 election.
"When you lose elections, there are consequences," he said, adding that Democrats are clinging to "resistance" politics that play well with their base but not the broader electorate.
Pointing to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's past warnings against shutdowns, Cornyn called Democrats' posture hypocritical.
"They may not understand the back and forth of finger-pointing, but they do understand hypocrisy," he said. "And this is, in Chuck Schumer's words, idiocy."
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