Matt Rosendale, a candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in Montana, spoke with Breitbart News’ Washington Political Editor Matthew Boyle on the Breitbart News Sunday program broadcast on SiriusXM Patriot Channel 125 Sunday night.
He said that incumbent Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) is a reliable vote for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) who voted against confirming Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and also voted against the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Montana is one of ten states President Trump won in which an incumbent Democratic senator is up for re-election in 2018.
The winner of the Republican primary, set for June 5, will take on two term Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), who narrowly won in 2006 and 2012.
Rosendale, who was elected Commissioner Securities and Insurance, Montana State Auditor in 2016, is one of several candidates vying for the Republican nomination.
“A crowded field of Republican candidates, including businessman Troy Downing, former state Rep. Russell Fagg, state Sen. Albert Olszewski, and state Auditor Matt Rosendale, has lined up for the opportunity to challenge Tester this year,” Ballotpedia reports.
Rosendale has been endorsed by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), the Great America Alliance, and Gun Owners of America.
With a narrow 51 to 49 majority in the U.S. Senate, taking away seats currently held by Democrats is an important part of the strategy to enact additional elements of the Trump agenda in the next Congress.
“Jon Tester sent out this really unbelievable press release last week . . . in which he tries to argue he is an ally of President Trump,” Boyle noted.
“Can you break down for us why you would be a better ally for President Trump in the U.S. Senate than Jon Tester has been,” Boyle asked.
“Jon Tester has been a loyal, loyal, reliable vote for Chuck Schumer,” Rosendale responded.
“He voted for the Iran deal, which not only has put us on a path that we can see we’re living through right now with North Korea, but it also placed hundreds of millions … four hundred million dollars, in the hands of tyrannical regimes and terrorists that continue to fight us.”
“He served on the Veterans Affairs Committee, and yet he’s done absolutely nothing to improve the delivery of services for our veterans across the nation.”
“He voted against Neil Gorsuch [to become a Supreme Court Justice], and yet he voted to support … Justices Kagan and Sotomayor, who have been openly hostile to the Second Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, the things that we all hold so dear.”
“He’s just coming out now on election year and trying to pander and get some publicity in any form or fashion that he possibly can, so that he can try to garner some votes.”
Rosendale also blasted Tester for voting against President Trump’s signature legisative accomplishment, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which passed both Houses last month and the president signed into law.
“It has already been demonstrated to be helping the people across this nation,” Rosendale said of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
“Tester has simply adopted Chuck Schumer’s and Nancy Pelosi’s talking points, ignoring the benefits for Montana workers and their families.”
Rosendale also criticized Tester for “describing the tax cuts in terms I can’t even use on the radio.”
“The Tax Foundation estimates that over 1,000 new jobs will be added in Montana just because of this bill.”
“We all know that lower taxes will grow our economy and make our nation stronger.”
“The president has been very clear since before he was sworn into office that we have to do something about our national security, and parts of that are, number one, we need to construct a wall.
“I think that [number two] chain migration, I agree with the president, must be stopped.”
Rosendale added that the “anchor babies” issue is also a problem. “We have to take a good analysis of that as well,” Rosendale said.
With regards to the looming budget shutdown if Congress does not pass a budget in the next five days, Rosendale said “If we had more people at the federal level, going in and looking at their agencies, departments, and institution, in the same fashion that I do [as State Insurance Commissioner], guess what? We wouldn’t be having this conversation about figuring out what we’re going to do about the budget in five days. We would be able to clip it out each year in a timely process.”
Rosendale also explained why Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) have endorsed him for the U.S. Senate in Montana.
“I have sat down with them, and spoken with them many times. . . Their ideals and mine align extremely well. . . Another big thing the three of us have worked on are these privacy issues,” Rosendale said, noting the legislation he introduced while serving in the Montana State Legislature to protect Fourth Amendment rights.
You can listen to the complete interview here:
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