{"id":2602002,"date":"2026-05-13T07:18:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T11:18:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/legislative-terrorists-eric-schmitt-expects-democrats-to-shut-down-government-to-rig-midterms\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T07:20:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T11:20:48","slug":"legislative-terrorists-eric-schmitt-expects-democrats-to-shut-down-government-to-rig-midterms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/legislative-terrorists-eric-schmitt-expects-democrats-to-shut-down-government-to-rig-midterms\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Legislative Terrorists&#8217;: Schmitt Expects Another Dem Shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flegislative-terrorists-eric-schmitt-expects-democrats-to-shut-down-government-to-rig-midterms%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2602002&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., saeid he expects Democrats may plan a U.S. government shutdown ahead of the 2026 midterms, arguing they would do so to gain an electoral advantage and labeling the strategy \u201clegislative terrorists.\u201d He warned the possibility of a shutdown has been \u201cunder-reported,\u201d claiming Democrats view chaos as politically helpful and are willing to damage Americans to do it.<\/p>\n<p>Schmitt noted federal funding is set to expire Sept. 30 and said some Republicans are trying to limit the impact of a shutdown-such as by preventing pay for members during a shutdown or rolling it into recurring short-term continuing resolutions. he said Republicans want shutdown consequences to be felt.<\/p>\n<p>He cited past recent shutdowns, including a partial shutdown over ICE funding (Feb-Apr) and a full shutdown in late 2025, pointing to long durations in U.S.history and arguing the timing followed electoral cycles. Schmitt also suggested the next trigger could extend beyond ICE-perhaps involving issues like the Iran conflict or health care-though he said the specific target may not be clear until it happens.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HoOC4K2wMLA\">ABC News \/ YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/13\/legislative-terrorists-eric-schmitt-expects-democrats-to-shut-down-government-to-rig-midterms\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=\u2018Legislative Terrorists\u2019: Eric Schmitt Expects Democrats To Shut Down Government To Rig Midterms&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/13\/legislative-terrorists-eric-schmitt-expects-democrats-to-shut-down-government-to-rig-midterms\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=\u2018Legislative Terrorists\u2019: Eric Schmitt Expects Democrats To Shut Down Government To Rig Midterms&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/13\/legislative-terrorists-eric-schmitt-expects-democrats-to-shut-down-government-to-rig-midterms\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/13\/legislative-terrorists-eric-schmitt-expects-democrats-to-shut-down-government-to-rig-midterms\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=\u2018Legislative Terrorists\u2019: Eric Schmitt Expects Democrats To Shut Down Government To Rig Midterms&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/13\/legislative-terrorists-eric-schmitt-expects-democrats-to-shut-down-government-to-rig-midterms\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said Monday that he anticipates Democrats are planning to shut down the government just ahead of the midterms, calling them \u201clegislative terrorists\u201d who will hurt Americans in an effort to rig the election.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking with a group of reporters on Capitol Hill, Schmitt said the potential for a government shutdown could be \u201cthe most under-reported thing \u2026 out there,\u201d adding, \u201cthis is not your grandfather\u2019s Democrat party. They\u2019re hellbent on chaos, and they think chaos is their friend. It\u2019s not good for the American people, but if they think that can get them a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-signs-bill-granting-temporary-debt-ceiling-extension\/\" title=\"Biden Signs Bill Granting Temporary Debt Ceiling Extension\">short-term leg<\/a> up in November, they\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2291536425\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Government funding is set to expire Sept. 30, leaving Democrats more than a month to gamble on a shutdown being electorally beneficial for them.<\/p>\n<p>Some Republicans in Congress are trying to push through changes that might neuter or stop a Democrat shutdown, like passing a bill that does not allow members of Congress to be paid during a shutdown, or have a shutdown automatically roll into perpetual two-to-four-week continuing resolutions (CRs) so that the real effects of a shutdown are not felt by most Americans.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans need to \u201cmake it painful for them [congressional Democrats] if they want to do that, because the American people suffer,\u201d Schmitt said.<\/p>\n<p>Schmitt mentioned the last time Democrats partially shut down the government from February to April over funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the previous full shutdown from October through November, 2025, both of which posted records for the <a href=\"https:\/\/history.house.gov\/Institution\/Shutdown\/Government-Shutdowns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">longest<\/a> partial and full shutdowns in U.S. history. Democrats\u2019 potential halt on government would follow the same timeframe as their shutdown last fall, which took place during off-year elections in Virginia and New Jersey, where Democrats swept wins across the board. Democrats <a href=\"https:\/\/history.house.gov\/Institution\/Shutdown\/Government-Shutdowns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">relented<\/a> on Nov. 12, little more than a week after Election Day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDespite what many of my appropriator friends want to believe, this is a new world, this is a new era,\u201d Schmitt said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t Ted Kennedy working with somebody on some bill: They\u2019re legislative terrorists at this point. And look, you think about what they\u2019re willing to do with ICE. It\u2019s just an extension of defund the police.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If it is not ICE in September, \u201cit\u2019ll be something else,\u201d Schmitt added, and the inroad could be anything from the Iran war to health care. But it will be difficult to know until the moment happens, he said, because the ICE funding issue was itself a surprise, with Democrats agreeing to the Department of Homeland Security bill just a week prior to the shutdown. Ultimately, it seems Democrats will choose whatever option is most politically expedient, no matter what, because \u201cthey\u2019re an <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >intellectually bankrupt party<\/a> that their sole, core operating ethos is Trump derangement syndrome. That\u2019s it. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s that much more complicated,\u201d Schmitt said.<\/p>\n<p>According to Schmitt, part of the motivation is that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is both afraid of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., primarying him and also wants to retire as Senate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donald-trump-ends-negotiations-with-nancy-pelosi-on-coronavirus-relief\/\" title=\"Donald Trump Ends Negotiations with Nancy Pelosi on Coronavirus Relief\">majority leader<\/a> before he is up for reelection in 2028. The 2026 midterms are seemingly his last, somewhat long-shot chance to garner that position.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s gonna be majority leader, but I think he thinks the politics are good for him,\u201d Schmitt said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re really capitulating to this more radicalized base that they have,\u201d Schmitt said, noting the violent, assassination-prep language (such as the labeling of conservatives as Nazis and ICE agents as the Gestapo) that has gone far outside the radical fringes of the media and onto the Senate floor.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Breccan F. Thies<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreccanFThies\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@BreccanFThies<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/breccan-thies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/chuck-schumer\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Chuck Schumer<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/continuing-resolution\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">continuing resolution<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/defund-the-police\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Defund the police<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/election\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Election<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/eric-schmitt\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Eric Schmitt<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/government-shutdown\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">government shutdown<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ice\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">ICE<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/midterms\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Midterms<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/shutdown\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">shutdown<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sen. Schmitt says Democrats may trigger a pre-midterm shutdown<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2602003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-12-161630.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[79578,79579,79580,79581,79582],"class_list":["post-2602002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-tag1politics","tag-tag2legislation","tag-tag3terrorism","tag-tag4democrats","tag-tag5shutdown"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-12-161630.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2602002"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2602006,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602002\/revisions\/2602006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2602003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2602002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2602002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2602002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}