Cornyn Slams Schumer Over Prolonged Government Shutdown, Warns of Political Stalemate

By Newsmax Wires | Wednesday, 05 November 2025 04:30 PM EST
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Wednesday that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is “testing the GOP’s resolve” by keeping the government closed. He warned that the continued shutdown is harming millions of Americans.

On “American Agenda,” Cornyn urged Democrats to act swiftly to end the stalemate. The senator emphasized that the shutdown, now stretching into its 36th day, has inflicted needless pain on people across the country. “More and more people are being hurt,” he said. “Millions of people whose supplemental nutrition has been jeopardized, their food stamps. Many, many more inconvenienced because of delays at airports, and, unfortunately, safety problems in terms of our aviation. And a lot of federal employees, of course, haven’t received a paycheck.”

Cornyn stated he has repeatedly voted to get the government running again. “I voted 14 times to reopen the government,” he said. “We’ve done everything we know how to do. But the president is correct that we’re happy to negotiate anything and everything once they reopen the government.” He placed the blame for the ongoing shutdown on Schumer, accusing him of prioritizing politics over governance.

Cornyn argued that Schumer is more focused on appeasing the “radical base” of his party than on solving the problem. He noted that Tuesday night’s Democratic victories in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City have made negotiations harder. “I’m afraid that last night has now emboldened them, so some of the discussions earlier, which were appearing to bear fruit, are now on hold,” Cornyn said.

The senator also defended the Senate filibuster amid calls to scrap it through funding bills. He cited discussions with President Donald Trump and Republican senators at a White House breakfast, stating, “The filibuster has protected the country from a lot of bad laws and bad policies when Democrats were in charge.” He warned that ending it would enable Democrats to impose sweeping reforms, including making the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico states, altering election systems, eliminating voter ID requirements, undermining the Second Amendment, and expanding abortion rights.

“So, a lot of good reasons for the filibuster,” he added. “But I must say, Sen. Schumer, with this Schumer shutdown, is testing our resolve here.”