Coons warns of government shutdown: We will ‘scare the hell out of you’

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) warned on Friday that a government shutdown appears likely, as Congress faces down a September deadline to pass its annual spending bills.

“We are going to scare the hell out of you,” Coons said at the Aspen Security Forum, alongside Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and James Risch (R-Idaho). “We’re really good at that.”

“On the debt ceiling, on default, we came right up to the end,” he continued. “We’re gonna have a government shutdown because we’re gonna fight between the House and Senate about appropriations. Maybe, I sure hope not. We keep coming right up close.” 

Lawmakers have until the end of September to pass the 12 annual appropriations bills to fund the government, but with the August recess approaching, they are staring down a tight deadline.

However, Coons suggested that bipartisan efforts, like those between himself and his Republican colleagues on Friday’s panel, will ultimately get the job done.

“In the end, it is exactly these kind of gentlemen with whom I am able to work and where we are able to continue to deliver sustained, strong, forward-leaning initiatives around strengthening our country, our defense, our military, our manufacturing and our system,” he said. 

“It’s really only because of the personal relationship that are at the core of the Senate that we’re still able to work,” he added.