Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is increasingly drawing heat from both sides of the aisle for his refusal to back a clean continuing resolution bill to keep the government funded into November.
Schumer, who in the past has opposed shutdowns, is being waylaid by Republicans as expected, but also from some Democratic circles and members of the media who are usually deferential to his party.
Three Senate Democrats joined most Republicans late Tuesday to support the stopgap funding measure, for instance.
That said, it’s not clear yet who will be “blamed” for allowing the partial shutdown, which took effect at midnight Wednesday.
Many of the Democratic Party’s left-wing faction were apoplectic at Schumer for providing Democratic votes in March to keep the government funded. So this time, Schumer is placating them, but that has led Republicans to label the current impasse the “Schumer Shutdown” — which appears to be catching on. And if it sticks, that will hurt his party more in the long run.
Still, Schumer may be more concerned about his own political future. There have been strong rumors that one of the House’s most left-leaning members, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is eying a primary challenge against him in 2028.
And since the far left was the most upset about his decision in March to help Republicans keep the government open, his move now to allow it to shut down now is being viewed through the lens of political survival, regardless of what it does to the country or to his party.
“I think that Chuck Schumer, clearly, is choosing his political livelihood over what’s best for the country. He is answering to his base, his far left base, who are demanding that he shut this government down. Look at everything he’s done, step by step; he wanted to shut this government down,” Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), told Newsmax Tuesday evening.
He also said that Schumer’s decision to deny Republicans the votes to pass the current stopgap funding bill also has political consequences.
“What his base doesn’t realize yet is that they lost the election. That elections have consequences,” Marshall said. “All we’ve asked them to do is continue funding at the levels that they chose, and instead, they want one and a half trillion dollars more. So Chuck Schumer owns this. Their demands are just simply not even worth even considering yet.”
He added, “I think Chuck Schumer is trying to save his own skin because he has AOC attacking him from his left. His base is attacking from his left as well. The left has taken over the Democrat Party. They have Trumpitis; anything to do with President Trump, they want to be against it as well.”
“So, their hatred for Donald Trump is so strong they’re willing to shut down the government at the expense of the American people as well,” Marshall told the Greg Kelly show. “This is really political theater at this point in time. I hope the shutdown is short. I hope that we return to responsible spending as well, and that’s what our goals are, keep the government open with responsible spending.”
The Kansas Republican went on to speculate about Schumer’s plan of action.
“I think that Chuck Schumer has a drama plan, probably to keep the government shut down over the weekend and to appease his base, and suddenly he’ll see the light next week, hopefully before anybody misses their paychecks as well. But I think he wants the drama. He loves the camera,” he said.
“He’ll be in front of the camera all weekend, stirring things up as well. But I think that at the end of the day, the American public knows that this shutdown is resting on Chuck Schumer’s shoulders,” he said.
