Schumer’s political purgatory
The Brooklyn Democrat finds himself at odds with his congressional colleagues and the grassroots base after he announced he’d vote for a Republican funding plan to keep the government open.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) found himself in political limbo Thursday night as he backed a controversial vote to keep the government open–despite overwhelming opposition from Hill Democrats and an enraged base.
Allow me to explain: The top Senate Democrat announced Thursday evening that he would be one of the eight votes Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) needs to advance a Republican funding bill that narrowly passed the House earlier this week by a single vote.
In his own words: “For sure, the Republican bill is a terrible option. It is not a clean CR. It is deeply partisan. It doesn’t address far too many of this country’s needs,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “But I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option.”
He made similar arguments on X, in a New York Times op-ed and an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes.
What they’re saying: House Democratic leadership reiterated their opposition to the GOP funding bill, arguing that it would empower President Donald Trump and his top adviser, Elon Musk, who leads the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, to dismantle the federal government further.
“House Democrats will not be complicit,” Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said in a joint statement. “We remain strongly opposed to the partisan spending bill under consideration in the Senate.”
In the know: At their annual retreat in Leesburg, Va., House Democrats–along with an overwhelming majority of Senate Democrats in Washington–backed a four-week short-term funding extension to buy time for bipartisan negotiations on a longer-term deal.
Withholding votes to end the debate on the Republican bill was seen as the Democrats’ last leverage point to force that outcome.
But it was always a Hail Mary. The House would have to return to vote on the Democratic-proposed measure after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sent members home early, effectively killing the alternative.
Most short-term extensions, known as continuing resolutions (CRs), extend funding at current levels without policy changes, funding shifts, or controversial riders.
All but one House Democrat voted against the Republican measure, citing cuts to domestic programs and the lack of guardrails to limit executive overreach by the Trump administration.
Looking ahead: Once the bill clears the procedural hurdle, Schumer and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) will work behind the scenes to reach a time agreement to speed up final passage of the measure ahead of tonight’s funding deadline at 11:59 p.m.