Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Newsmax’s Wake Up America to discuss Democrats' tantrums and the shutdown’s escalating impact on federal workers and families in need. Leader Scalise contrasted President Trump’s record of keeping his promises and getting things done for the American people with Chuck Schumer's refusal to reopen the government to placate his radical base.
 
Excerpts from Leader Scalise’s interview:

On Democrats holding Americans hostage over their hatred of President Trump:

“There's already a lot of problems that Democrats have caused by shutting the government down. The most immediate was that you have federal workers, including our men and women in uniform, that started working without pay. Some of them were getting partial pay, but not their full pay. Their bills were still due fully. They still had the rent and the car notes, and all of that was due. And so that was already disrupted. And then you saw even more problems, the SNAP benefits, the women, infant, and children payments that were not going out to those low-income families. These are millions. I'm talking over 42 million people that are put in a really, really horrible position just so that Democrats can have a tantrum because Donald Trump won the presidency. And whatever Chuck Schumer thinks the election Tuesday night had to do with anything. I mean, blue states voted blue. What's the shocker there? New York elected a socialist as the leader of their party. And Chuck Schumer is in the fetal position, scared to death of Mamdani. That's the real problem is that Schumer can't make a move without clearing it now with the socialists in New York. And that's what's holding this government hostage. That's what's holding American families hostage, and I think people are sick by it.

“And Democrats admit they're causing suffering for families, and they can't even tell you what they want. They're just beating their chest because, gee-whiz, New York elected a Socialist mayor, and New Jersey elected a Democrat governor. What did you think was going to happen? That's no victory.

“You just saw it: a 10% reduction in air traffic right before Thanksgiving, when families are going to be going to see their relatives. Many of them are not going to be able to do that now because why? Chuck Schumer is afraid of the socialist wing of his party? Talk about a profile in courage for goodness' sake.”

On President Trump and Congressional Republicans delivering on their promises:

“Well, I think the most important thing that we've been doing when we won the majority last year, House, Senate, and of course, President Trump in the White House, we ran on very specific things. We said that we would focus on getting the economy back on track, reversing the damage of Joe Biden, get energy prices under control. We've done that. We said we'd secure the border. That was the number one issue in America. President Trump, day one, went to work securing the border, and now it is secure. And that's another issue that we've solved. We've worked with President Trump over and over again to deliver for American families, hardworking families. And what have Democrats done? They've obstructed every step of the way. They voted to raise taxes. They voted against border security. They voted against energy security. All they're doing, and they shut the government down, a record 37 days. Is that something that they can go to the voters and brag about?”

On Democrats' acceptance of a politically violent candidate:
 
“I think that was the most disappointing result of all is that this was an easy one where voters can just say, look, yeah, might be Republican, might be a Democrat, can we at least not elect the guy who said he wants to kill not just his political opposition, he wanted to kill the children of his political opponent. I mean, this guy should have been disqualified from office. Every law enforcement group in Virginia said he's not fit for office. He's going to be the attorney general. It's sad that that's the best the Democrats had to offer. Their party's a rudderless ship right now. They really are void of alternatives and ideas. They don't care about the American people. They're proving it with the shutdown.”

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