Rep. Jimmy Patronis used the Washington Reporter’s coverage to criticize Democrats for their “hypocrisy” during the historically long Schumer Shutdown. Here’s what he told us.
Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R., Fla.) reached out to the Washington Reporter following a report by the Reporter about how several House Democrats have closed their Washington, D.C. offices during the Schumer Shutdown to criticize his colleagues across the aisle for their “political stunt.”
The Reporter covered how Democrats, ranging from rank-and-file members like Rep. Nikema Williams (D., Ga.) to potential presidential candidates like Rep. Ro Khanna (D., Calif.) had their offices closed and locked on, for example, Election Day 2025. To Patronis, elected earlier this year in a special election, that is nothing short of “hypocrisy.”
“They claim to stand for working families, but this shutdown proves otherwise,” he said. “It’s not about healthcare or helping Americans, it’s a political stunt designed to energize their base and attack Republicans.”
In contrast with how many Democrats are leaving their constituents who choose to visit them in D.C. without recourse, Patronis explained that he’s been “on the ground, in my office either in the district or in D.C., every week throughout this shutdown, meeting with constituents, helping small businesses, and doing the work the people elected me to do.”
Patronis, himself a businessman, added that he’s “not taking a paycheck while Americans are struggling, because this fight should be about service, not self-interest.”