Democrats are prolonging the federal government shutdown by refusing to negotiate with President Donald Trump because the party is more focused on spending programs than reopening the government, Sen. Roger Marshall told Newsmax on Thursday.
“I think today we’re going to see the Democrats once again vote [against] for even paying the military, let alone the essential workers up here,” the Kansas Republican told Newsmax’s “Wake Up America.”
“They wake up every morning thinking about a new government program, something they can spend money on to save the world,” Marshall said, adding that it is “frustrating to them” not to be spending money.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has been “begging” to meet with Trump, which suggests a deal could be approaching, but not immediately, the senator said.
“Maybe we’re getting close,” he said. “Not this week though.”
Marshall also defended Trump’s decision to demolish the East Wing of the White House for his multimillion-dollar ballroom project, and said criticism from Democrats is misplaced.
“Most Americans are excited that President Trump has pride in what the White House looks like, what Washington looks like,” Marshall said.
“He’s using private money to do this. I got a little peek at the new Rose Garden,” he added. “It is beautiful.”
Marshall also commented that the Republican Party is united behind Trump’s handling of the shutdown and foreign policy priorities.
“President Trump is playing his cards right now,” he said.
“He’s pretty focused on getting peace in Gaza, making that peace treaty stick, and figuring out what to do in Ukraine as well,” Marshall said. “There’ll be no negotiations until [Democrats] agree to open the government.”
The Kansas senator also discussed his Patients Deserve Price Tags Act, which would require hospitals and surgery centers to list actual procedure prices to give consumers greater transparency.
“Healthcare must be the only industry in the world that doesn’t have price tags,” he said. “This bill would help people with high deductibles shop around based on cost and quality. It’s all about putting price tags on healthcare.”
On agricultural issues, Marshall said persistent drought and reduced imports have driven up beef prices, but credited Trump’s trade policies for expanding export markets.
“We have the smallest cattle herd we’ve had in my lifetime,” he said. “We usually get a lot of imports of hamburger from Mexico as well as Brazil, but because of President Trump’s tariffs on Brazil, those are down as well.
“It’s been a great market for our cattlemen — it’s the only bright spot in agriculture right now.”
The senator also discussed the draft document he and other Republicans are preparing aimed at eliminating mail-in voting and electronic voting machines, calling mail-in ballots “corrupt.”
“Mail-in ballots — you can never have a real democracy with mail-in ballots,” he said. “We, as a Republican Party, are going to do everything possible to get rid of mail-in ballots.”
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