Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., told Newsmax's "Wake Up America" on Thursday morning that he expects more Democrats will soon support efforts to reopen the federal government.
He said that, as they begin to feel the weight of the ongoing shutdown's real-world consequences, they will see the need, or face the wrath of voters.
He added that the political tide is turning because both the public and the Democratic Party are beginning to experience what he called "real harm" from the impasse.
"We're hearing from Democrats, particularly in these last few hours and last day or two, that just think it's intolerable to go into November very far with a government shutdown," Cramer said. "Because the real pain ... is going to hit home."
Cramer pointed to the tangible effects of the shutdown, citing how federal programs and services are beginning to stall.
"I mean, when you don't have school lunch programs, for example, getting their money, when you don't have SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] recipients getting their money, people going hungry as a result of this government shutdown, when air traffic controllers start not showing up for work, when our police officers, our FBI, our Border Patrol, when the country becomes less safe, that's real," he said.
The senator emphasized that the debate over government funding is not just political theater.
"These are real people," he said. "This isn't just some sort of game.
"This isn't just sort of theory. This isn't a political science experiment. This is real life."
Cramer argued that Democrat leaders have misrepresented the House-passed funding bill, noting that it had bipartisan backing.
"The House of Representatives passed a bill, and, by the way, it's a bipartisan bill," he said. "[House Minority Leader] Hakeem Jeffries is lying to you and to the American people when he says it's a partisan bill.
"We've had three Democrats vote for this bill 13 times."
He added that Democrats' claims that the continuing resolution would harm healthcare are unfounded.
"Nothing in the CR does a thing to healthcare. Nothing. It doesn't change a single thing," Cramer said, adding that the real driver of healthcare costs is Obamacare, which he argued "has driven up the cost of healthcare hundreds of percents."
Cramer also criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for refusing to bring appropriations bills to the floor when he served as majority leader, accusing him of political gamesmanship.
"Chuck Schumer wouldn't allow them to be brought to the floor because he wanted to consolidate them all into a Christmas tree at the end of the year, put a gun to everybody's head and say, yes or no, do you want your thing or don't you? And if you want it, you have to have everything that I want," he said.
Ultimately, Cramer said the pressure of public dissatisfaction will push Democrats to act.
"I just think that they recognize two things," he concluded. "One, that there's real harm coming if they don't start voting to reopen the government, and two, that there's real political harm coming to their party."
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