Representative Brian Mast (R-FL) chastised Democrats for allowing the government shutdown to continue in a recent appearance on Fox Business' Mornings with Maria, claiming it is purely to oppose President Donald Trump.
In a recent address, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) outlined various foreign aid programs Democrats want to continue funding if it means ending the shutdown, including "climate resilience in Honduras," "civic engagement in Zimbabwe," "LGBTQI+ democracy grants in the Western Balkans," "desert locust risk reduction in the Horn of Africa," and "organizing for feminist democratic principles in Africa."
"We are not doing that," Rep. Johnson bluntly affirmed.
Host Maria Bartiromo asked Rep. Mast if the shutdown were to continue, how long it would take to become a serious crisis.
"Certainly by the time that we get to the next pay period at the beginning of the month," Rep. Mast replied, pointing to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as an example. "If you have people in the FAA, air traffic controllers in those towers not showing up for work, then you have increased stress on the amount of aircraft that one air traffic controller has to pay attention to. That is a real safety concern."
The Florida Congressman said that Republicans would work to find money wherever they can to fund the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program and pay essential employees without extra spending.
"And that is just a difference in values," Mast continued. "The juxtaposition to this is Democrats looking to say, 'How can we spend an additional trillion and a half dollars between now and the week before Thanksgiving on those ridiculous programs like the ones that you just pointed out?' That is the difference in values."
Bartiromo ended the discussion by asking the Florida Congressman if he believed Democrats are aware that the foreign aid programs are ridiculous or if they are simply opposed to Trump.
"I think it is about them just wanting to oppose anything that President Trump is doing, anything," Mast answered. "If [the White House] is cutting spending, they want to oppose that. It does not matter. There will be an opposition."
