PARK SLOPE – THE DEMOCRATS ARE IN DISARRAY after a tense showdown over a GOP-backed spending bill on Friday opened a deep rift between the House and Senate delegations – with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer taking the brunt of constituents’ fury. The legislation, which funds the government for six months, passed through the House with just one Democrat voting in favor following stiff opposition from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, but while Schumer had earlier signaled a willingness to potentially shut down the government by blocking the bill, ten Senate Democrats ultimately voted in favor of the continuing resolution.
The party has since erupted in fury, with Democratic Congressmembers saying they feel betrayed by the turnaround: many wanted the measure blocked over harsh funding cuts and an unusual amount of discretion granted to President Trump over spending targets. Schumer and allies, including New York’s other senator Kirsten Gillibrand, countered that they believed a government shutdown would give the Trump administration, and in particular the Department of Government Efficiency, allegedly led by Elon Musk, broader freedom to institute far-reaching and potentially unlawful cuts, with courts unable to work to block these actions. Schumer on CBS said that an unnamed Republican senator had told him that the government would not be allowed to reopen for months, should the measure fail.
Protesters have focused on Schumer, as leader, as a target for protests, with many describing the move as a surrender to Trump. Senate and House office phone lines have been packed full of angry callers, demonstrators gathered outside his Park Slope townhouse over the weekend, and the senator this week announced that he would be delaying a tour for his upcoming book over security concerns. Several colleagues have boosted calls for Schumer to step down as leader; he has defended himself as the correct pick for the job.
Schumer and Jeffries reportedly met on Sunday in an effort to reset priorities.
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