U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, criticized Senate Democrats for a 22-hour talk-a-thon on the Senate floor. In his remarks, Barrasso questioned the effectiveness of the event during an ongoing government shutdown.
“One of our colleagues just spent over 22 hours on this Floor reading from a book, reciting poetry – one poem at least four times – and talking about renovations currently going on at the White House.
“It was 22 hours of what I can only describe as rubbish. I come to the Floor today to ask a simple question: What did Democrats actually accomplish? The government is still closed. Capitol Police Officers and Senate support staffers – who were here for the entire 22 hours – are still not getting paid.
“The facts speak for themselves. Americans deserve better than Democrats’ rubbish.”
Barrasso also read into the record an article from the Daily Caller that described how Senate Democrats required Capitol Police and support staff to work overnight without pay due to the funding lapse caused by the shutdown.
According to the article, Democratic Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley began a speech Tuesday evening that lasted more than 14 hours, criticizing President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon. Merkley denied reports of violence outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, despite arrests since June.
Democratic New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim joined Merkley later in the evening and spoke about concerns regarding democracy under Trump’s administration.
Senate staff missed their first full paychecks as a result of continued opposition by Democrats to a bipartisan spending bill passed by the House that would have funded government operations. Federal employees faced additional missed pay if no agreement was reached.
Merkley and Kim voted with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer multiple times against measures intended to reopen government services during what has become a prolonged funding gap.
Barrasso criticized these actions on social media: “The Democrats are going to make Capitol Police and Capitol support staff – who they refuse to pay – work all night so they can give speeches patting themselves on the back for shutting down the government and hurting the American people,” he wrote on X. “How ridiculous is that?”
While senators continue receiving their salaries due to constitutional protections, other federal workers remain unpaid during shutdowns.
The Senate is expected to consider legislation sponsored by Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson that would ensure payment for military personnel and federal employees working through the shutdown period. However, Democrats are likely to filibuster this bill while maintaining that all federal workers should be paid even as they vote against reopening measures.
This latest marathon speech follows previous instances where Senate Democrats held extended sessions protesting policies of President Trump earlier in the year.
