U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, appeared on Fox & Friends to discuss his upcoming meeting with President Donald J. Trump, the ongoing government shutdown, and a recent peace agreement involving Israel and Hamas.
Barrasso stated that Republicans remain united ahead of the meeting with President Trump. He said he expects the president to encourage them to “stand strong.” According to Barrasso, “What we’re seeing here are the Democrats practicing the politics of pain, and it’s the American people who are suffering the pain. And it’s the millions of military members, TSA agents, border patrol, people who go to work every day, and they’re wondering, when will they get their next paycheck?”
He shared concerns from constituents in Wyoming affected by the shutdown: “I talked to someone in Wyoming yesterday who’s in that category, and they’re saying, ‘I still got to put food on the table. Try to feed the kids. How are we going to do that?’”
Barrasso criticized Democratic priorities during this period: “The Democrats don’t seem to care about any of those Americans. They care more about the people in their left wing who want to provide health care for illegal immigrants – paid for by taxpayers – rather than pay the men and women in uniform. It’s wrong. They’re afraid of their liberal base.”
Addressing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s role in what Barrasso called the “Schumer Shutdown,” he said: “Yeah, Chuck Schumer is playing a dangerous political game with our country. It’s wrong. You know, he’s told the press, he said, ‘Every day gets better for us.’ I’m wondering who the ‘us’ is? It’s not the American people… This is a political game that was orchestrated by Schumer, organized in his office with the far-left base of the party. They had been planning this shutdown for months because Chuck Schumer is afraid of AOC and of his own shadow and of his party…”
When asked about eliminating the filibuster for funding bills as suggested by Congressman Chip Roy, Barrasso responded: “No, that’s not going to be the case. There aren’t the Republicans that would want to support it.” He added: “The Democrats would love for us to do that… They wanted to expand the Supreme Court from 9 to 13, and they wanted to get rid of voter ID, so that’s not something that we’re going to entertain.”
Regarding President Trump’s recent diplomatic achievement between Israel and Hamas, Barrasso said: “Well, the President is really showing what U.S. President Trump is as a global leader he has promised and is keeping his promises of peace through strength.” He noted progress on hostage releases and described current efforts as putting forth a pathway toward peace but acknowledged ongoing challenges.
Barrasso contrasted these developments with previous policies under President Joe Biden: “Consider what it was like with Joe Biden in the White House, the weakness of wishful thinking. President Trump took decisive action with regard to Iran…” He concluded by expressing optimism about future prospects for Middle East peace under Trump’s leadership.
