Thune: Schumer Shutdown Day 10

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke at a press conference with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.).

Thune's remarks below (as delivered):

"Well, good morning.

"Leader Chuck Schumer may think that every day that goes by, the shutdown gets better for the political prospects of the Democrats.

"But every day that it goes by, it gets a lot worse for the American people.

"Now, Democrat senators might start to feel that a little bit personally when they try to fly out of airports, and you see some of the impacts that are already occurring with respect to TSA and air traffic control.

"And families around the country are already seeing the impacts, and it's about to get a whole lot worse.

"Because we just needed five more votes - five more Democrat votes - that the Democrats wouldn't give us yesterday.

"The American people are going to … feel a lot more pain and miss a lot more paychecks in the very near future.

"So, shame on the Democrats.

"Shame on the Democrats for doing this to the American people.

"I mean, look at that.

"Really?

"'Every day gets better for us?'

"'Every day gets better for us.'

"That's their thought about what this shutdown means.

"So, shame on the Democrats for what they're doing to the American people.

"Republicans want our troops to get paid.

"We want our air traffic controllers to get paid.

"We want our TSA agents to get paid.

"We want our Border [Patrol] agents to get paid.

"And we have voted that way now in the United States Senate seven times, to open up the government.

"Democrats in the Senate are the last hurdle, the last hurdle to getting the government open again and the American people back to work.

"But, what?

"Instead, they've decided to pander to their far-left activist base, who are cheering - cheering - what's going on here.

"And the Democrats tend to be so afraid - I guess, is the only thing, or running scared from - that far-left activist base that they are willing to put that ahead of what's in the best interest of the American people.

"Well, it's time for them to get a backbone.

"It's really time for the Senate Democrats to show a little courage and put the American people ahead of their far-left activist base.

"They have a simple choice in front of them:

"Open up the government.

"Quit playing politics.

"Quit talking about how 'it gets better for us, because we're looking at the polling and we think that we're winning.'

"This is all that's between this country and their government being open again.

"It's this bill. You've seen it before.

"It's passed the House of Representatives.

"It's sitting at the desk of the Senate.

"It could be picked up and passed today, put on the president's desk, where he has said he will sign it into law.

"The government opens back up, people get paid, troops get paid, air traffic controllers get paid, TSA agents get paid, Border Patrol agents get paid, and we get back to working on behalf of the American people.

"That's what, that's really, this is it.

"This is all that is between this country being back to work again, and it's five Democrats in the United States Senate.

"We have a majority of United States senators - 55 out of 100 senators - are voting to open up the government.

"We need five bold, courageous Democrats with a backbone, who are willing to take on their far-left activist base.

"Join us in passing this.

"Could do it anytime, anytime.

"Send it to the president, he'll sign it in law.

"It's that simple.

"Something they've done 13 times when they had the majority here in the United States Senate and President Biden in the White House.

"Thirteen different times.

"Continuing resolutions are a routine practice around here.

"They don't get hijacked for extraneous policy riders, and we didn't do that.

"No gimmicks, no policy riders, no partisan attachments to the bill that came over that the speaker and the House passed and sent to the Senate.

"It's just a straight-up bill to keep our government open so we can continue the appropriations process and get back to work for the American people."

Permalink: https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2025/10/thune-schumer-shutdown-day-10