Rick Scott: It’s Schumer’s Fault If Government Shuts Down over Noncitizens Voting

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) told reporters at the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) annual leadership meeting that if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) refuses to allow a vote on a bill to require proof of citizenship to vote in U.S. elections, and the government shuts down as a result, that will be his own fault.

Scott was referring to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, also known as the SAVE Act, which “requires individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections.”

As Breitbart News has reported, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) is considering attaching the SAVE Act to a stopgap spending measure that would have to be signed by September 30 to keep the federal government open.

Scott told Breitbart News that Johnson was moving ahead with the idea in the House: “I think he has the votes.”

Asked whether there was some risk to Republicans of a government shutdown ahead of the presidential election, Scott suggested that if Schumer allowed a shutdown over non-citizens voting, Democrats would suffer instead.

As Breitbart News has noted, Scott’s Democratic opponent in the upcoming election for U.S. Senate in Florida, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, has refused to take a stand against illegal aliens voting in American elections.

“She’s a socialist,” Scott told Breitbart News. “She won’t talk about the border; she won’t talk about Israel; she won’t talk about antisemitism; she won’t talk about anything.”

Scott, a former governor of Florida, is seeking a second term.

Scott also spoke about the ongoing situation in Israel, and told reporters he was certain that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was doing everything he could to free the hostages, contrary to President Joe Biden’s recent claims.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.