Senators Mullin and Lee Say Senate Leadership Is Holding Up Funding Deal as Shutdown Looms

U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) and U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) told a television interviewer that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is responsible for delaying a funding deal and that the impasse could lead to a government shutdown that shifts operational authority to the White House and forces difficult payroll and staffing decisions.

The senators framed the debate as a dispute over language in spending measures and immigration-related benefits. "Schumer's holding it up," Mullin said. "When we say Schumer shutdown, it's a 100% Schumer shutdown." He said Democratic changes would reinstate eligibility for some subsidies that had been removed in prior legislation and that lawmakers were seeking $1.5 trillion to reopen the government for four weeks — a figure Mullin described as "$600,000,000,000 above our defense budget." He said that level of borrowing would be unacceptable.

Why it matters: A shutdown could affect federal payroll timing and agency operations. "The president now gets to deem these agencies if they're open, if they're closed, if the employees are essential or nonessential," Mullin said, arguing the executive branch would gain discretion over which staff remain on duty. He warned that scheduled paydays later in the month could be missed if a deal is not reached: "In two weeks, the fifteenth, the military pay is supposed to go out and federal employees supposed to go out. That money won't be there," Mullin said.

Lee made similar political and policy arguments. "The Schumer shutdown boils down to this. They have terrible policies. Those terrible policies cause them to lose elections," Lee said, adding that Democrats are "relitigating" prior legislative losses. Lee used a metaphor to criticize Democratic strategy, saying, "Look, these guys are arsonists... They're doing it deliberately." He also said the White House team and Office of Management and Budget leadership were prepared to exercise expanded authority during a shutdown, identifying Russell Vought by name as an official he said had been preparing for such a moment.

Both senators disputed the scale of financial assistance to noncitizens cited by opponents of the Republican position. Mullin asserted that the disputed funding reductions mainly affect American citizens and referred to figures suggesting the portion going to undocumented immigrants is small. Separately, an exchange in the interview referenced the stress on emergency rooms from care for migrants; senators described that as an element of the debate but did not provide supporting data during the segment.

The interview contained a mix of policy claims and political characterization. The senators spoke about potential effects on federal employees and military pay dates and criticized Senate leaders for negotiating positions they said would increase federal spending or restore eligibility for benefits. Neither senator presented legislative text or independent documentation during the segment; their comments reflected political interpretation of the negotiation and forecasts about how a shutdown could change executive authority over agency operations.

Ending: Mullin predicted pressure to reach an agreement before mid‑month paydays and said he expected the government to be reopened by then. "I don't think they'll last that long either, but I think it'll be open at least by then," Mullin said. The interview did not include counterstatements from Senate Democratic leaders or text of the proposed continuing resolution; those materials would be necessary to verify the senators' specific assertions about language, dollar amounts and eligibility changes.