Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) defended his decision to dispel questions surrounding his leadership and vote for a six-month GOP Continuation Resolution (CR) that funds the government by the end of September, saying he and his caucus are on the same page.
Schumer was asked on CNN by Jake Tupper if he was “worried” about his leadership position after longtime lawmakers gained a fierce push from House Democrats and Senators.
“I think I had overwhelming support in the Caucus. Many members thanked me and said, “You did what you thought was courageous and we respect that.” I think my Caucus and I are in sync, and everyone knows what I'm doing and I respect that,” Schumer said during his appearance on CNN on Friday.
Schumer told Senate Democrats at lunchtime Thursday, but later that day he asserted he would vote to move forward with the GOP-led CR to avoid closure. On Wednesday, he said he had not received enough votes for the House bill.
“I think it's my job to make the best choice for this country to minimize harm to Americans, so I'll vote to keep the government open and not close it,” Schumer said Thursday on the Senate floor.
The New York senator on Friday stressed that the House funding resolution was a “bad bill,” but “he argued that giving is much worse. [President] Donald plays the city and country keys if the CR fails.
“We all know that [Elon] Musk and Doge [Department of Government Efficiency] And Trump is denounced the federal government, wanting to have them shut down the government and allow them to shut down the government. They would have done it within a few weeks,” Schumer said Friday before the final vote on the resolution.
Schumer, along with nine other Democrats, voted with Republicans to help advance the CR to the final vote. The bill advanced Friday with a 62-38 vote.
Shortly afterwards, the Senate passed a House-led bill to avoid government shutdowns with a 54-46 vote. Two Democrats, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (DN.H.) and Angus King (Mayne), independently conspired with the party, voted for the measure. On the Republican side, only Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY.) voted against the CR.
Jared Golden (Mayne), a Democrat who represents the battlefield district, voted for the CR in the lower room. Tupper asked Schumer what message he wanted to give to House Democrats in their thrown district and the Purple Senator who chose to oppose the support of the fundraising bill.
“I respect what the members of the house did. I'm glad they all voted against it, but like I said, it's very different in the Senate. If you were voting against the bill and the bill was down, the whole government would be shut down to the other end, creating dramatic and huge challenges for millions of Americans,” Schumer said.
