BREAKING: Sen. Kennedy Torches Schumer’s Shutdown ‘Compromise’ as GOP Digs In – ‘Stupid Should Hurt More’

WASHINGTON – On the 38th grueling day of the federal government shutdown, Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy unleashed a verbal haymaker against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s latest Hail Mary offer to reopen the lights, declaring it dead on arrival and a prime exhibit in Democratic obstructionism. “God, please give me patience, because if you give me strength, I’m going to need bail money,” Kennedy quipped on Fox News’ The Story Friday evening, encapsulating the raw frustration boiling over in GOP ranks as essential workers – from air traffic controllers to national park rangers – continue to go unpaid. His blunt assessment? Schumer’s proposal isn’t a bridge; it’s a “dumbest thing possible that won’t work,” a taxpayer-funded handout to insurance giants masquerading as compromise.

The shutdown, now the longest since the 2018-19 fiasco that lasted 35 days, kicked off October 1 after Congress failed to pass a stopgap funding bill amid bitter clashes over expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies – enhanced tax credits from the COVID era set to lapse at year’s end. Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, have repeatedly advanced “clean” continuing resolutions (CRs) to maintain current spending levels through mid-December, decoupling them from the healthcare fight to prioritize reopening the government. Democrats, however, have stonewalled every vote, filibustering 14 such measures and insisting the subsidies – costing an estimated $35 billion annually – be extended as a non-negotiable precondition. With furloughs hitting 800,000 federal employees and back pay uncertain, the standoff has drawn bipartisan ire, but Kennedy didn’t mince words: Democrats are “stamping their little feet” while essential services teeter on the brink.

Schumer’s counteroffer, unveiled dramatically on the Senate floor Friday afternoon with a phalanx of Democratic senators at his side, dangled a tantalizing carrot: In exchange for a one-year extension of the ACA subsidies, Democrats would greenlight a clean CR to fund operations at fiscal 2025 levels through December 15, plus three bipartisan appropriations bills for full-year funding of departments like Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, and Energy-Water. The deal would also spawn a “bipartisan committee” to hash out long-term ACA reforms post-reopening, ostensibly threading the needle between Democratic demands for healthcare stability and Republican insistence on separating the issues. “This is a reasonable offer that reopens the government, deals with health care affordability, and begins a process of negotiating reforms,” Schumer implored, tossing the ball squarely to Thune’s court. “All Republicans have to do is say yes.”

The response from the GOP caucus? A collective eye-roll and swift rejection. Kennedy led the charge, branding the plan “stupid” and a non-starter that funnels billions to insurers without guaranteeing lower premiums or structural fixes – a “status quo” extension that balloons the deficit while kicking the can down the road. “Sen. Schumer says we should just extend the status quo for a year. What does that mean? That means that we would have to take $35 billion of taxpayer money and give it directly to the health insurance companies without any commitment of lowering premiums. How is that going to reduce health care costs?” he fired off on Fox, his folksy drawl laced with sarcasm. Thune echoed the sentiment in a post-floor huddle, calling it a “non-starter” that ignores the core impasse: No negotiations on subsidies until the government is funded. “That’s what we’re going to negotiate once the government opens up,” Thune told reporters, hinting at Democrats “feeling the heat” but dismissing the offer as progress at best.

Kennedy’s takedown went viral on X, where MAGA influencers amplified his zinger – “Stupid should hurt more” – racking up thousands of likes and shares. @TwitchyTeam posted a clip captioned “NEW>> Senator John Kennedy Says Chuck Schumer’s Obamacare-Funding Shutdown-Ending ’Compromise’ is DOA,” drawing cheers from users like @RichSementa, who quipped, “What Senator Schumer is suggesting is that we do the dumbest thing possible that won’t work.” Conservative voices piled on: @IngrahamAngle shared Kennedy railing against Senate “headless chickens,” while @SenJohnKennedy himself tweeted a video slamming congressional paychecks amid the chaos, proposing bills to dock lawmakers’ salaries during shutdowns – a measure he’s pushed 14 times to no avail. Replies trended toward filibuster nuking, with users like @CoachLaolagi urging, “Nuke the filibuster and pass the Trump agenda!” – a nuclear option gaining traction in GOP circles as weekend votes loom.

Democrats, sensing vulnerability, framed the offer as a good-faith olive branch. Crafted by Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), it emerged from a private huddle of 11 moderate Dems in Sen. Angus King’s office, including swing-state senators like Mark Kelly and Raphael Warnock, desperate to shield the subsidies that have enrolled 21 million Americans and stabilized premiums. Schumer, surrounded by allies on the floor, projected unity, but cracks show: Polls now tilt blame toward Democrats, with air traffic delays spiking and SNAP benefits in jeopardy – though the USDA scrambled Friday to issue full November payouts. Critics like Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) called it “detached from reality” and “selfish,” while Kennedy jabbed that Schumer isn’t even calling the shots – that’s Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the “socialist wing.”

This impasse isn’t just procedural theater; it’s a high-stakes test of wills in a divided Senate, where Republicans hold a slim 53-47 edge but need 60 votes to overcome filibusters. Thune floated weekend sessions, but with Trump’s incoming administration eyeing deeper cuts via the DOGE commission (led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy), the shutdown could drag into December – or force a filibuster overhaul. Kennedy, ever the straight-talker, warned it’s “clear we need to try something different,” but not Schumer’s version. As federal workers pinch pennies and veterans’ services stutter, the Louisiana senator’s verdict rings true: Democrats’ blockade isn’t governance; it’s gamesmanship at America’s expense.

Politically incorrect aside: If Democrats truly cared about “affordability,” they’d join Republicans in reforming the ACA’s bloated subsidies rather than holding the government hostage to prop up a 15-year-old pandemic relic. This “Schumer Shutdown” – as conservatives dub it – exposes the left’s priorities: Everything for Big Insurance, nothing for fiscal sanity. With public patience fraying, the ball’s in Dems’ court now – and Kennedy’s right: Saying “yes” to a clean CR costs them nothing but pride.