Rep. Scalise Blasts Sen. Ossoff for Raising Millions Off Schumer Shutdown
Rep. Scalise Blasts Sen. Ossoff for Raising Millions Off Schumer Shutdown
We are now three weeks into the Schumer Shutdown, and Democrats continue to reject the clean Continuing Resolution that would reopen the government. The impasse has left federal employees in limbo and critical services strained while leadership in the Senate holds firm.
Across the country, air traffic controllers and other essential workers are missing paychecks and SNAP benefits are at risk of running dry. Meanwhile, Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) has used this crisis as a fundraising moment and pulled in $3 million from donors in blue states.
House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (LA-01) seized on that contrast and publicly attacked Ossoff for turning shutdown pain into donor dollars. His criticism framed the fundraising as profiting from public suffering and demanded accountability.
“Another Democrat said Senator Ossoff’s calculation is ‘do I vote to open the government up and get crushed and can’t raise a single dollar of low-dollar money, or do I vote to shut the government down and get $3 million from online fundraising?’ That’s disgusting,” Scalise said.
“He’s causing suffering on tens of thousands of people in his home state of Georgia,” Scalise continued. “Ossoff ought to send that tainted, dirty money back. He’s raised $3 million off of the shutdown and suffering he’s caused. Just so he could get some more money from radicals around the country.”
Scalise’s attack follows a report in The Hill that paints Ossoff as politically vulnerable as he eyes reelection in 2026 and worries about fundraising dynamics within his own party.
The House passed a clean CR weeks ago, yet Senate Democrats have not acted to reopen the government, leaving families and service members paying the price. Scalise has kept up pressure, calling out what he describes as a refusal to put Americans first in favor of appeasing the party’s hard left.
Of the radicals, Scalise said, “They come here and they lie about our president. They call him a king, where ironically they’re also advocating for the death of that democratically elected president. And so you’ve got to see it all on full display.”
“And hopefully, that’s what Chuck Schumer needed to go through to show them that he’s still keeping the government shut down to appease that group. But now that rally is over,” Scalise added. “And the pain that he has inflicted on American families continues. It’s time for Chuck Schumer to end the pain he’s inflicting on millions of American families.”
Reporting from inside the caucus suggests that many centrists fear the consequences of defying the activist base and that this dynamic has stalled any bipartisan resolution. That internal pressure, critics say, helps explain why a simple measure to reopen the government has not moved forward.
A second person familiar with the political dynamics within the Senate Democratic caucus, who spoke with The Hill ahead of the “No Kings” protests, said centrist senators are fearful of breaking with leaders while party activists are planning the anti-Trump rallies.
“We would have enough votes” to reopen the government “if people were not terrified of getting the guillotine,” the second person said.
Only three Democratic senators have crossed party lines to vote for the CR: John Fetterman (PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), and Angus King (ME). Those defections underscore the narrow margin and the political calculation at play as activists press leadership from the left.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
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