Enough Senate Democrats will eventually join with Republicans to approve a funding resolution and reopen the federal government, as there is “no other option for them,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis told Newsmax on Wednesday.
“You’ve already seen them slowly cave and do the right thing,” the New York Republican said on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America.” “Yesterday, we had three Democrats who did vote to keep the government open on that first initial vote.”
The shutdown followed a 55-45 Senate vote late Tuesday that fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance a Republican measure to keep the government funded for seven weeks.
Democrats, who had warned they would block the bill unless President Donald Trump and GOP leaders addressed their healthcare demands, carried through on the threat, setting up the first government closure in nearly seven years.
“Why won’t they vote for the same resolution, literally the same funding levels that [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer himself negotiated last year, and that they voted to extend three additional times?” Malliotakis said. “Why is this all of a sudden a problem for them? And they would prefer to shut down the government, hurt their constituents receiving services, and make sure that the military is not paid. This doesn’t make much sense.”
Malliotakis also criticized House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., after he argued that Republicans have spent the year forcing their agenda while blaming Democrats for the current standoff.
“Exactly to my point, he doesn’t want the American people to know the dynamics in the Senate that require a bipartisan vote,” Malliotakis said. “Seven Democrats must join [Republicans] to get the 60 votes necessary to keep the government funded. The bottom line here is the Democrats are certainly putting politics over people.”
She pointed to her own record of working across party lines to prevent shutdowns in the past.
“I’ve worked in a bipartisan manner. We passed 13 continuing resolutions over the years that I’ve been in Congress in a bipartisan fashion to avoid this very thing,” she said. “You’re going to start seeing other things happening here. I mean, I’m sure the market is going to be responding. It’s going to have a trickle effect economically. And what are the Democrats going to say then?”
Malliotakis argued that Republicans have offered a “clean extension” of funding, unlike when Democrats controlled the chamber and added policy measures. She accused Democrats of trying to include subsidies for insurance companies and policies tied to the Affordable Care Act, which she said had raised rather than lowered premiums.
“It’s once again, over and over, lies coming from the Democrats,” she said. “I’m proud of the Republicans for sticking together and doing the right thing here. And we hope that the Democrats in the Senate will finally give us the seven votes so we can end this and really avert what could be an economic crisis.”
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