U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, addressed the Senate on October 14, 2025, criticizing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and the Democratic Party for their role in the ongoing government shutdown, now in its 14th day.
Barrasso referenced several media reports to highlight the impact of the shutdown. He cited headlines from The Military Times, Axios, and The Wall Street Journal, pointing to increased anxiety among military families, concerns about food assistance programs, and delays at U.S. airports. Barrasso argued that these were “real life impacts of the Schumer Shutdown, and the pain is getting worse each and every day.”
He accused Schumer of treating the situation as a political maneuver, stating, “He bragged about shutting down the government – bragged about it. It was carefully planned. And in a carefully planned interview with Punchbowl News, he gloated, he said, ‘Everyday gets better for us.’ That’s what Schumer said, ‘Everyday gets better for us.’ Who is the ‘us’? Certainly not the American people.”
Barrasso claimed that the Democratic Party was influenced by what he described as its “far-left radical, extreme, dangerous, scary, wing.” He argued that this group, which includes organizations like Indivisible, was controlling the party’s actions. “They’re calling the tune, and we see the Democrats dance. Not for the American people, but for the far-left wing of their party,” Barrasso said.
He noted that some Democrats had joined Republicans in voting to end the shutdown, stating, “Some Democrats have voted with us. We’ve had a bipartisan group. We had 55 votes. We need five more Democrats.” Barrasso called for a vote on a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government, which he said had been done multiple times under previous administrations.
Barrasso concluded by urging his colleagues to act, saying, “All of this could be resolved today with a simple vote for a continuing resolution to open the government once again. That’s what we should do today. That’s the right thing for this body, and the right thing for our country.”
