The nation has reached “a critical moment” in the ongoing government shutdown as civilian federal workers and members of the military face delayed paychecks, so Democrats must “finally come on board” and end the impasse, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Newsmax.
“Civilian federal workers are not going to get paid this Friday. Military members are not going to get paid next Wednesday,” Lankford told Thursday’s “Wake Up America.”
President Donald Trump is using tariff dollars to prop up the Women, Infants, and Children program, but other key aspects of the government are on hold, including at the IRS, where agents have been furloughed, according to Lankford.
“There are all kinds of issues that are all around the country right now,” Lankford said. “It’s time for Democrats to finally come on board and say, OK, let’s keep the government open. This is ridiculous.”
The government shutdown, now in its ninth day, has stalled multiple times in the Senate, which has failed six times to reach 60 votes for a continuing resolution to fund the government.
Lankford said there are early signs of movement among Democrats but warned that political gamesmanship continues to block progress.
“There is a little bit of movement. I’ll take some movement at all at this point,” he said. “They continue to be able to shut the government down and cause the chaos across the country, like they’ve caused chaos in their own party.”
Lankford said Democrats have begun to echo Republican calls to negotiate spending bills while keeping the government open — a position, he noted, that “sounds very, very familiar.”
“We’re hopeful that in the next 48 hours we might have some breakthrough,” he said. “I’m hopeful most often because I’m an optimistic person anyway.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is posturing to satisfy the party’s progressive wing, according to Lankford.
“I would expect at the end of the day, Chuck Schumer, whatever happens among Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer will still vote against it,” Lankford said.
“He has dug in and is trying to be able to appease a very far left progressive base that has been after him because he’s not been fighting enough against Trump,” he added. “They’re getting better for you politically, while they’re getting worse for the members of our military.”
He also accused Democrats of prolonging the shutdown to galvanize their base ahead of the planned “No Kings” protest in Washington on Oct. 18.
“Well, I can’t tell what the goal is other than just to show they’re fighting against President Trump,” Lankford said.
“Whatever President Trump is for, they’re against,” he added. “It doesn’t make any sense to real Americans who are not looking through some activist leftist lens. They’re just looking at it with their own paychecks, their families, the people down the street that they know that are federal employees.”
Turning to foreign policy, Lankford praised Trump’s progress in the first phase of the Gaza peace deal, calling it “a huge gain” and an emotional milestone for families of hostages held by Hamas.
“I had a one-word post last night when this came out. It was just the word ‘Hallelujah,'” he said.
“If there’s an opportunity for those hostages to be able to come home back to their families, it just makes all of us tear up and get excited,” the senator added. “Let’s get them home. Hamas cannot lead Gaza. This has been very clear in the Trump peace plan.”
Lankford said he hopes the first group of hostages could be released as soon as this weekend, calling it “step one” in restoring peace in the region.
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