The Senate will hold another vote Friday on a stopgap funding measure to end a partial government shutdown, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told Newsmax Wednesday.
Schmitt told “Rob Schmitt Tonight” the shutdown, which began at 12:01 a.m. EST Wednesday, has prompted the Trump administration to identify cuts to keep core services operating, including Social Security, Medicaid, and military pay.
Earlier Wednesday, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought announced that $18 billion in federal funds for New York City infrastructure projects will be frozen, along with $8 billion in so-called “green new scam funding” in a dozen blue states, according to Axios.
“Eventually here, the government is going to have to save money because it’s going to run out of money,” Schmitt said. “I think they’re sort of combing through these contracts and the ones that have constitutional issues or legal issues, that’s what’s going to be kind of first to go.
“And the Democrats will have a decision again on Friday to vote to fund the government again.”
The Senate, for the second time in 24 hours, voted down a stopgap funding measure Wednesday. Advancing a funding bill requires 60 votes, so Republicans would need at least eight Democrats, with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., opposing both attempts.
As of Wednesday night, the Senate had not posted an official Friday vote time.
Schmitt noted what he called the irony of the shutdown allowing the Trump administration to reduce the size of government after Democrats opposed the Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts early in President Donald Trump’s second term.
“There are going to be some opportunities to find greater efficiencies, there’s no doubt about that,” Schmitt said.
“And the truth is once the government shuts down, the legislature doesn’t do its job, which the Democrats are preventing us from doing the job, that all that power then shifts the executive branch to make sure that you have core functioning … that Social Security checks go out, that Medicaid, the things that people rely on, the outward-facing stuff for real people.”
“These DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] contracts and Green New Deal stuff, that’s a legacy of the Biden stuff. They’re going to look very closely at that,” he said.
“It shows you how irrational this really is for the Democrats. There’s really nothing that can explain it except for this: They’ve essentially capitulated to their radical-left base and Chuck Schumer is afraid of AOC.”
Schmitt was referring to growing speculation that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., could challenge Schumer, the Senate minority leader, in the 2028 New York Democrat Senate primary.
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