Speaking exclusively to Breitbart News Monday morning after eight Democrats voted with Republicans on Sunday night in a major step toward ending the 40-day gridlock, Cotton emphasized how everyday Americans suffered just so the Democrats could cave without receiving anything of substance.
“While I’m glad that this needless shutdown is coming to an end, I’m upset and frustrated on behalf of the many Arkansans who felt real pain because of the Schumer Shutdown,” the senator said.
Arkansas has the highest prevalence of food insecurity in the nation according to a 2024 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), with about 127,000 households receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) benefits that were threatened by the shutdown.
The state’s Department of Human Services (DHS) listed some “shutdown impacts” on its official website, warning that some cash assistance programs and public grants were suspended on November 1 and explaining that all county offices “will close to public access” if the government did not reopen in the coming days.
“Democrats have made it clear that they will always put politics before what’s best for Arkansans,” Cotton said. “Chuck Schumer is a disgrace. He put his deranged hatred for President Trump ahead of serving the public.”
Schumer still voted no on Sunday’s procedural vote, while Democrat Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NM), Angus King (I-ME), and John Fetterman (D-PA), who had previously voted to allow the House-passed CR to advance.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the sole “no” vote from the Republican side.
The motion passed without a single vote to spare, and will allow a vote on a clean CR to fund the government through January 30, 2026 with a package of “relatively non-controversial appropriations bills” extending through the fiscal year, Breitbart News’s Bradley Jay reported.
The three-bill package would fund the operations of Congress and its support agencies, the USDA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Veterans Affairs and Pentagon infrastructure programs through the 2026 fiscal year.
Backpay for federal employees, a guarantee that the over 4,000 federal employees laid off during the shutdown will be rehired, and a temporary ban on future reductions in force through January 30 were also included in the deal to get Senate Democrats on board.
However, the deal is nothing like what Schumer was demanding for over a month to reopen the government — namely an extension of Covid-era enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies. Instead of receiving a guarantee on an extension, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) only promised a vote. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has not committed to bringing it up for a vote in his chamber.
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
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