Senate Democrats are putting politics ahead of the country as they continue to block a short-term spending bill to keep the government open, Rep. Roger Williams said on Newsmax on Wednesday.
"They're playing politics," the Texas Republican told Newsmax's "National Report." "They put their political career ahead of America's future. It's a bad decision, but that's what they're doing."
Williams, who chairs both the House Small Business Committee and the House Financial Services Committee, said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is prioritizing political gains over national interests.
"He's literally taking what he thinks is to protect his future and challenge the future of our country and the soldiers," said Williams.
He added that many of the states represented by Democratic senators have a large military presence, yet those lawmakers continue to oppose the continuing resolution, or CR, to extend government funding.
"Speaker Johnson's right when he starts naming these senators that represent these states that have the majority of soldiers and military bases in them," Williams said. "It's pretty telling."
Williams criticized Democrats' push to include an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies in the spending package, saying the time for that debate had passed.
"They want to give illegals health care. I mean, that's money that could be going to the soldiers, quite frankly," he said.
However, he added, "I'm for sure as heck not going to vote for Obamacare or an extension like they talk about."
Williams said the standoff is having real-world effects on families and businesses.
"We've got to get back with these military personnel getting paid," he said.
"We've got air traffic controllers that need to be paid, [because] many people live paycheck to paycheck," said Williams.
As chairman of the Small Business Committee, which has oversight of the Small Business Administration, Williams said the ongoing shutdown is also affecting the nation's Main Street businesses.
"[They] are waiting for the SBA to open up so they can get a loan, stay in business, meet their payroll, so it's affecting Main Street drastically," he said.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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