Rep. James Clyburn, Ds.C., said he didn't know what happened later last week.
In an interview with MSNBC this weekend, Clyburn said Senate Democrats thought they were “on the boat” with a strategy accepted by House Democrats — almost everyone opposed the exact same bill — refers to Schumer's remarks when he said the GOP's ongoing resolutions do not have the vote to pass the Senate.
“You know, I don't know. I thought the Senate was on board. If Leader Schumer remembers when he announced that the votes weren't there, I thought this was the time for the nation to focus on exactly who and where,” Clyburn said.
Clyburn pointed to Quinnipiac University. Polling data Showing multiple Americans would blame either President Trump or Republicans on government shutdowns. In a survey last week, 32% said they blame Democrats.
“When I saw the numbers, 22% of Americans said Trump was responsible. About 31% said Republicans were responsible. Plus, I'm not good at math, but that's more than 50% of Americans who blame Republicans.”
Clyburn has vehemently defended minority leader Haicum Jeffries (DN.Y.), saying that Clyburn is “blinded” with Schumer's support for the resolution.
“For the first 24 hours, it seems they're on board. And then there's this change. What happened in the 24 hours? I'm not sure, but no one blames Hakeem Jeffries for that,” Clyburn said.
Clyburn fought back against those who said, “We need new leadership.”
“Jeffries played it by the rules,” Clyburn said. “He played the game the way he should have played, and somehow he became blind.”
Schumer defended the vote by saying that government closures would worsen and would effectively accelerate Trump's efforts to shut down government agencies he disliked, but he faced a fierce backlash within the party to not fight.
