Senator Marshall: We Can’t Keep the Government Shutdown Forever
Senator Marshall Joins Washington Watch to Discuss The Filibuster & the Schumer Shutdown
Washington – On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), joined Tony Perkins with the Family Research Council’s Washington Watch to discuss the conversations swirling around eliminating the Senate filibuster, the potential consequences and benefits of that choice, and the latest in the Schumer Shutdown.
Click HERE or on the image above to watch Senator Marshall’s full interview.
On President Trump wanting to end the filibuster as a way to end the Schumer Shutdown:
“Yeah, Tony, certainly, that was the President’s message today. He’s a great convincer, right? I think what folks need to realize is that number one is the filibuster is not in the Constitution. This is a rule in the Senate. The rule was meant to protect the minority. I want to remind folks we’re a Republic, that we’re not a Democracy, and a Republic protects the rights of the minority. But he’s absolutely convinced that the Democrats are not going to let him do anything else with his agenda for the remainder three years, unless we get rid of this filibuster.
“And I got to tell you, two weeks ago, I would have said there’s no way I could ever, ever consider it. But here we are. Every day that we go along. I’m sitting there wondering, look, we can’t keep the government shut down forever. And if I could share, you know, one thing that I learned today is the Democrats woke up very emboldened. That they’re crediting last night’s victory. One of their credits is the fact that they’ve had the government shut down; they feel like it’s giving them more power. They’re willing to keep the government shut down clear until the next election because they think it would help them. And that’s why I would describe this as a political shutdown. They’re more concerned about their reelection than they are about whether our military is getting paid or our children get their money for the SNAP programs.”
On what the Democrats would do if they ended the filibuster first:
“Tony, you’re absolutely right about all that. And I wish the filibuster were in the Constitution, then it would be next to impossible for the Senate to change it. And I mean, I know people talk about praying for decisions, but I wake up every morning that I would do justice and and truly, I’m torn a little bit trying to decide what the right thing is. If you could guarantee me that the Democrats aren’t going to get rid of the filibuster the next time they’re in control, and it’s going to happen, I don’t know if it’s going to be two years, four years, or eight years. Are they going to do it? And just remember, it was just two years ago that every Senator here that’s still here voted in favor of ending it. And that would be the President’s point.
“Now there’d be others here that argue, oh, that was just a show vote, they really wouldn’t do it. So everything you said is absolutely true. I would prefer to keep the filibuster in place. But if they’re going to change it anyway, should we proceed in getting rid of it, getting the government open, and then proceeding with President Trump’s America First agenda? You know, for instance, voting. If we got rid of the filibuster, then we could make our elections secure again. We could basically outlaw mail-in ballots, and we could demand voter ID. So there’s good things, there’s bad things, and I’m truly wrestling with it.”
On the potential unintended consequences of ending the filibuster:
“Yeah, that’s spot on, Tony. And you know, I have to again admit that a lot of the laws that we pass are bad ones. And what the filibuster does is keep us from passing even more bad ones. It saves us from ourselves. As you know, other Senators have said that the House is like the coffee cup, and the Senate is supposed to be the saucer. We’re supposed to measure twice, cut once. And that’s what the filibuster makes us do… it makes tax law more permanent, rather than every two years, tax law changes, is the best one I can think of as well. It gives us more certainty. So I can think of 100 reasons to defend it. And my big concern today is, what if? Are the Democrats, when they control the Senate, are they going to get rid of it, and we do end up with Puerto Rico, a state, they pack the court, and you know, the list of things that I’m sure you’ve mentioned before.”
On what is happening next with the Schumer Shutdown:
“You know, there is. I think there are definitely some strong smoke signals coming from across the aisle. And leader Thune is certainly receiving those messages loud and clear. I think the question is, are there 10 brave soldiers over there? They walk the plank and get butchered by the legacy media, by the far left Marxists that are driving this Democrat Party right now. It’s going to take courage, absolutely. It’ll take courage for them. They’re going to get the heck beaten out of them. And then you understand that as well as anybody does. It’s going to take a courageous group to do this, and even Chuck Schumer, who typically would be the first one standing in line to keep the government open, it sounds like he’s abandoned any opportunity to do that.”
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Contact: Payton Fuller
