Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana appeared to be briefly at a loss for words when asked about President Donald Trump’s administration’s decision to slash $1 billion in clean-energy funding intended for Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub, which includes his state.
In a Tuesday interview on CNN’s “The Source,” Sheehy was asked about the funding cuts, which were announced by the Department of Energy earlier this month. The senator dodged the question entirely, instead linking the DOE’s decision to the ongoing government shutdown, for which he blamed Democrats.
“As I said, we want the government to be open,” he told journalist Kaitlan Collins. “You should be saying this to Chuck Schumer, who’s closing the government down. I‘m agreeing we should have the government open right now. This is an unnecessary shutdown.”
When Collins asked if the Trump administration’s funding cuts would hurt Montana overall, Sheehy rattled off a laundry list of services ― including air traffic controllers and cattle shipping ― that have been impacted by the shutdown, now in its third week.
“That’s why we’ve voted eight times to reopen the government, but we’ve not been supported by our friends across the aisle,” he said, alluding to Democrats.
