I Don’t Know What He’s Talking About!’ Sen. Bennet Mocks McCarthy for Trying to Blame Shutdown on Democrats

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) mocked Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Saturday for claiming Democrats would be responsible if there was a government shutdown and accused him of trying to “satisfy the extremists in his party.”

McCarthy in recent weeks has struggled to pass a bill that would avoid the government from shutting down because members of his own party have slow walked legislation or voted across the aisle with Democrats to kill McCarthy’s bill.

With less than 24 hours before the government shuts down, McCarthy is attempting to pass a 45-day clean stopgap bill.

Bennet, like a number of other key Democrats, was not impressed with the legislation and took to MSNBC on Saturday to air his frustration with host Alex Witt.

McCarthy told the press on Saturday that the ball is in the court of the Senate Democrats, accusing them of not doing their jobs.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Bennet responded during an interview with Witt. “We passed a bill, a CR, with almost 80 votes in the in the Senate days ago. And we have been sitting here waiting for the House of Representatives to act on that CR, which funded our government, as well as extended the funding for Ukraine and extended funding for the natural disasters, including Hawaii.”

He added, “And here we are in a Saturday afternoon after he has tried every single thing he could try, I guess, to satisfy the extremists in his party. And now he’s coming in. He’s begging Democrats in the House to help keep the government open.

In the backdrop of the government shutdown talks, McCarthy faces a possible ouster from members of his own party such as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who has expressed interest in working with Democrats to push him out of the speakership.

“I wish I were on Fox News,” Bennet continued. “Anybody who has watched what has been going on in the past few days knows that the Senate did its job in a bipartisan way. I have no idea what he’s talking about.”

Watch the full segment above via MSNBC.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!