They can't "work and have a conversation at the same time," is how Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., described to Newsmax as the current state of congressional Democrats.
Britt told "American Agenda" on Wednesday that "Democrats need to do the right thing and reopen the government. The fact that they have demanded this shutdown in order to have a conversation is completely and totally ridiculous."
Senate Democrats have held out supporting an earlier House-approved clean continuing resolution (CR) for stopgap funding to keep government running while long-term budget talks continue.
The Senator said it is an unnecessary situation.
"The people that Democrats have said they care the most about are going to pay the price, because Democrats don't know how to work and have a conversation at the same time," she said.
She continued that theme pointing out it would be a quick solution to the shutdown for Senate Democrats to accept the CR to get government back in operation. But they are unable, she said.
"This is the fault of Senate Democrats," said Britt, "who are showing that they somehow can't walk and chew gum at the same time. We need to be opening the government. We need to be working for the American people."
It's wrong, said Britt, for federal workers to be on the job, but not getting paychecks.
"These people need to be getting paid for the job they're doing," she said. "And we can have conversations about other things that they'd [Democrats] like to do.
"They seem to think that they can only do one or the other, and ultimately people are paying the price. But I think there are a lot of people that are working diligently, some workers that are living paycheck to paycheck."
Like House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Britt blames Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. for trying to look tough while under pressure from the far-left side of his party.
"And we see Chuck Schumer putting the politics of his reelect [bid] and trying to figure out if he can make it until, what is it, Oct. 18th, the No Kings protest here in Washington, D.C. so that he can stand on the stage with those individuals and rally the left wing of his party and hopefully keep his job," she said.
Washington remains locked in the budget standoff as the Senate continues to reject both Republican and Democrat funding proposals, extending the government shutdown.
The main dispute centers on Democrat efforts to include extensions of Affordable Care Act premium tax credits in any funding package, while Republicans insist the government must reopen first before broader negotiations take place.
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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