Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is postponing his book tour due to security concerns after receiving heavy backlash for his support of the Republican spending deal last week.
Schumer was set to begin his tour Monday in Baltimore, followed by stops in New York on Tuesday, Washington on Wednesday, and Philadelphia on Thursday to promote his book Antisemitism in America: A Warning.
But his recent decision to vote with Republicans to advance a funding resolution until Sept. 30 has drawn a severe rebuke from the Democrats’ base and his fellow lawmakers, causing him to postpone his events, per multiple outlets.
NOTUS reported that the library in Baltimore was still holding the event at 10:02 a.m. Monday, but by 10:09 a.m., the location got word that the book tour appearance was canceled. Schumer was also set to have a conversation with Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), one of the most vocal pro-Israel House Democrats, to promote the book, but that was canceled “without explanation,” per Jewish Insider.
The postponement comes just days after Schumer said he would help advance the GOP’s stopgap spending measure almost unanimously opposed by House Democrats. House lawmakers, including leadership headed by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), called on Senate Democrats to reject the spending deal to oppose President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Republicans needed support from Democrats to reach the 60 votes needed in the Senate to overcome a filibuster, and Schumer shocked the party’s base when he took to the Senate floor and announced he would help push the spending deal forward. The consequences of a government shutdown would be far worse, he argued.
The decision to accept the spending plan, known as a continuing resolution because it largely locked in funding at current levels, has angered many of Schumer’s colleagues in both the House and Senate.
“I think he is missing the moment and is not the right leader for the job right now,” one House Democrat told the Washington Examiner. “Caving is not the right move.”
Schumer, however, did successfully negotiate a way to protect Washington, D.C.’s budget, which was due for cuts in the spending bill. It is up to the House to pass the measure to stave off $1 billion in cuts.
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Several congressional Democrats have called for Schumer to be removed as the Senate Democratic leader, and progressives are privately encouraging Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to primary him in 2028, the Washington Examiner confirmed.
Jeffries refused to offer any support to his fellow New Yorker, repeating, “Next question,” when asked if he still had confidence in Schumer or whether the senior senator should be replaced.