Sen. John Kennedy Predicts Schumer’s Inevitable Shutdown Surrender

Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy says Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is facing pressure from within his own party—and it’s only a matter of time before he caves and engineers a quiet end to the ongoing government shutdown.

Speaking on Fox Business with Larry Kudlow on Monday, Kennedy laid out what he believes is Schumer’s exit strategy: quietly convincing a few Democrats to vote with Republicans to reopen the government, while maintaining the illusion of party unity.

“He’ll Have to Stage a Mutiny—Without Looking Like One”

“It will end eventually,” Kennedy said, “when Senator Schumer goes to six or eight of his members and says, ‘Do me a favor. Vote to open it back up. I may have to criticize you. I’m not going to vote with you, but I need a way out of this.’”

“But he’s got to be careful,” Kennedy warned. “If it looks contrived, he’s boned. He can’t look like he’s having a mutiny.”

According to Kennedy, the shutdown has little to do with real policy disputes. He argued it’s all about Schumer trying to stay in good standing with the far-left faction of his party—what Kennedy called the “moon wing.”

“They’ll Never Love Him”

“I know him well,” Kennedy said. “This shutdown is not about policy. It’s about politics. Schumer is trying to get the socialist wing of the Democratic Party—which now controls the show—to love him. But they never will.”

Kennedy compared the current impasse to earlier negotiations in March when Schumer cooperated with Republicans to keep the government open. “He’d be better off just calling it like he sees it again,” Kennedy said.

He blasted Democrats for demanding $1.5 trillion in spending before agreeing to reopen the government, accusing them of holding Americans hostage while insisting they dictate every dollar.

Democrats Want the Pork Back

Kennedy also took to the Senate floor Friday to expose what he called “wasteful foreign projects” that far-left Democrats are fighting to reinstate in the budget.

“They’re holding up the entire government over this garbage,” he said.

According to Kennedy, Democrats are demanding the return of spending items that Republicans already stripped out, including:

• Millions for LGBTQ and sex worker workshops overseas

• Electric buses in Rwanda

• Palestinian media outlets

• Foreign sterilization initiatives

• International pride parades

“These aren’t priorities for the American people,” Kennedy said. “They’re the pet projects of the radical fringe.”