Sen. Cassidy: ‘It’s Easier to Negotiate with Hamas Than Chuck Schumer’

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) said it has been “easier to negotiate with Hamas than it has been with Chuck Schumer” on reopening the government as the shutdown entered day 21.

Cassidy appeared on Fox News with anchor Trace Gallagher following a Tuesday White House lunch with other GOP senators and President Donald Trump after the Senate Democrats blocked the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) for the eleventh time on Monday.

While the Democrats led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are refusing to pass a clean CR without including health care for illegal immigrants, Cassidy said their lack of compromise is a “catch-22.” 

“We actually can’t write legislation as long as Congress is out of session. So the Schumer shutdown shuts down the ability to write legislation, to reopen government, to make health care more affordable again,” the Republican said. “So Schumer, if you will, has got himself in a trap.”

He added, “I think for the President, it’s been easier to negotiate with Hamas than it has been with Chuck Schumer. We need them to end the shutdown. Let’s kind of get to work.”

At the lunch earlier in the day, Trump said, “Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats need to vote for the clean, bipartisan CR and reopen our government. It’s got to be reopened right now.”

“They are the obstructionists. And the reason they’re doing it is because we’re doing so well. We’re doing well all over the world,” the president continued, before describing Schumer as being in “deep trouble” and “losing in all of the polls.”

Cassidy came out of the White House meeting happy at how his interaction with Trump went, holding up his newly signed “Gulf of America” cap during the Fox News interview.

“The President is gracious as always. Got my signed Gulf of America hat, and so it was a lot of fun, more importantly, connecting with the President about how do we go forward,” he told Gallagher. 

Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.