Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is once again playing a dangerous game of political chicken, but this time it’s not with the national debt, it’s with the defense of our nation.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a bill that authorizes funding for our military, has yet to secure any floor time for a vote from the Majority Leader even though it cleared committee three months ago. It’s because Chuck Schumer is stalling to see if he can deliver on the socialist tax and spending spree that will save his Senate career from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Now, time is running out and both Republicans and Democrats are furious, including House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith (D-CA).
“From a process standpoint, I can’t argue with the Senate Republicans on this issue,” House Armed Services Chair Adam Smith (D-Calif.) said Tuesday. “There is no reason that this bill has not been put on the floor in the Senate.”
“Mark my words on this one. I know Chuck Schumer. At some point in the next couple weeks, he will come out with the 10 impossible-to-do things we absolutely have to have in the NDAA,” Smith told POLITICO’s Connor O’Brien. “If we had a couple more weeks or preferably a couple more months, we could conceivably accomplish that. But [to] wait until the absolute last minute for no good goddamn reason makes that more difficult.”
“I called and asked. They told me to piss off,” Smith said. “I said, ‘OK, I want to talk to Schumer.’ They said, ‘No you can’t do that.’ So here we are.”
Ouch! As Schumer continues to block the NDAA, why haven’t Senators Raphael Warnock, Maggie Hassan, Mark Kelly, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Michael Bennet spoken up?
Statement from NRSC Spokesman T.W. Arrighi: “Chuck Schumer is wielding his power in the Senate to save his political career instead of fulfilling his most solemn obligation which is to ensure our military is funded and our country is safe and strong. Democrat House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith has every right to be livid with Schumer and his handling of the military’s budget, and Republicans and independents alike stand with him. Thanks to Schumer’s incompetence, not only will Democrats continue to be blamed for the domestic policy failures but also for the threat to the preparedness of our military and security of our country.”
