Kennedy likens Senate dysfunction to 'game room in a mental hospital' as shutdown hits third week

Republican lawmakers continue to blame Senate Democrats for prolonging the government shutdown, accusing Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of caving to the Democratic Party’s far-left wing and pushing reckless spending as the standoff enters its third week.

For Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, there's no end in sight.

"It's like the game room in a mental hospital. That's what the Senate is like right now," Kennedy said Sunday on "One Nation with Brian Kilmeade."

NEW YORK REPUBLICANS BLAST SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND OVER SHUTDOWN: ‘YOU’VE ABANDONED YOUR RESPONSIBILITY’

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., pauses while speaking to members of the media after a briefing on Iran in the basement of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2019.  (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"I'm prepared to just stay shut down. I'm sorry for all the pain it's causing."

Both Kennedy and House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., lamented Sunday that the side effects of the shutdown are going to be painful for the American people.

They also accused Schumer of putting his own self-interests above the country's well-being.

"Our military's not going to be paid for a while," Kennedy noted. 

"Really, the pain that it's causing the American people breaks my heart, but I don't know what else to do. They [Democrats] basically want us to repeal the one big, beautiful bill and spend $1.5 trillion, and… we can't just give the loon wing of the Democratic Party, $1.5 trillion… I'm not going to vote to do it."

DEMOCRATS STRUGGLE FOR COHESIVE MESSAGING STRATEGY AMID SHUTDOWN STANDOFF

House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., speaks to reporters at a press conference following a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol Building on July 18, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Appearing on "Sunday Night in America," Scalise echoed other Republicans who have argued Schumer is refusing to cave out of fear for his political future.

"Chuck Schumer's fear… is the far left, it's the AOC wing of the party. In fact, our polls show AOC would beat Chuck Schumer in a primary, and that seems to be all he cares about: his political future," Scalise said.

"He surely doesn't care about the lives of American families, our soldiers, our men and women in uniform who will not get paychecks next week because of this crazy move to shut down the government by Schumer."

Scalise also argued that Democrats have blocked the House-passed funding bill to push for what he called "a wish list" of unrelated spending, including new programs and funding for noncitizens, while U.S. troops and families face missed paychecks.

Schumer and many of his Democratic colleagues, meanwhile, insist Republicans are to blame for the shutdown.

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"IT’S MIDNIGHT. That means the Republican shutdown has just begun because they wouldn’t protect Americans’ health care. We’re going to keep fighting for the American people," Schumer posted on social media as the shutdown began.

As of Monday, the government shutdown entered its 13th day, with no clear resolution in sight as both chambers remain locked in a partisan stalemate over spending and priorities.