Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is facing criticism from his fellow Democrats over his decision to side with Republicans on keeping the government open.
“I think there is a deep sense of outrage and betrayal,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said. “This is not just about progressive Democrats. This is across the board. The entire party.”
Schumer was one of 10 Senate Democrats who sided with Republicans in passing the continuing resolution. The bill passed the House without any Democratic support.
His opposition said his vote to continue funding the government would allow President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to continue their agenda.
Given the fact that Schumer is the minority leader, one would assume that he should have a say in dictating his party’s policy stances.
The continuing resolution was a compromise for both parties. For Republicans, it allowed them to keep the government open until September and at least allow Trump to accomplish some of his goals in that time frame. For Democrats, it allowed them to keep the previous spending amounts they had under former President Joe Biden.
Also, Schumer expressed fear that a government shutdown would embolden Musk to pressure federal workers to retire, as well as give the Trump administration more power to deem government programs as nonessential.
It is unlikely that many Democrats don’t also share this view. Their refusal to vote for the continuing resolution was likely an attempt to paint the bill as a pro-Republican measure. The fact that 10 Democrats supported the bill means there was meaningful aversion to a shutdown from the Democrat side.
“You don’t start wars unless you have an exit plan,” Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) said after voting for the continuing resolution. “We had no exit plan.”
Although some Democrats were in favor of a short-term continuing resolution instead of the longer one, they likely would rather keep the government open at Biden-era spending levels than risk a shutdown and an opportunity for the Department of Government Efficiency to enact more cuts, even if it means Trump can move forward somewhat on policy.
The dissenting group of Democrats likely knew that the continuing resolution bill would pass with the 60 necessary votes. They could score double points with their base by not taking blame for a government shutdown and not appearing as having caved to Trump.
If Democrats were committed to a government shutdown, they likely would have been able to convince a few of the holdouts to vote against the bill.
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If a prominent party member such as Schumer votes in favor of a bill, it is likely that the rest of the party approves of the measure.
Democrats did not want to give Trump a win on the continuing resolution, but they wanted a shutdown even less. Any complaining about Schumer’s “defection” is likely Democrats virtue-signaling to their progressive base.