Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., dismissed any worries about his leadership on Friday.
He said he has “overwhelming support” of Democrats in the aftermath of voting to advance the Republican-led continuing resolution to fund the federal government through September.
“Look, I think I have the overwhelming support of my caucus, and so many of the members thanked me and said you did what you thought was courageous, and we respect it. I think my caucus and I are in sync, and everyone knew what I was doing and respected it,” Schumer said in an interview with CNN on Friday.
Ten Senate Democrats, including Schumer, voted with Republicans to invoke cloture, the procedural move that required 60 votes to end debate on the stopgap funding bill and advance it to a floor vote, where it passed nearly along party lines, 54-46. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted against, while Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Maine's Angus King, an independent who caucuses with the Democratic Party, voted for the measure, The Hill reported.
Schumer on Wednesday vowed that Senate Democrats would stop the bill from advancing given that Republicans did not have the votes for cloture. His about-face a day later, when on the Senate floor he said he would vote to advance it, enraged congressional Democrats and liberal groups.
Pass the Torch, a grassroots Democrat group, called on Schumer to resign; Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., called his vote a “betrayal” and a “slap in the face”; former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had urged Senate Democrats to “listen to the women” and defy Schumer.
Even Schumer’s counterpart in the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., declined to support Schumer.
“Look, Hakeem and I get along, we've known each other a very long time, but I expected when I did this, I think it was an act of strength, of courage, and I knew that most people wouldn't agree with me, but I'm confident I did the right thing, and I think history will vindicate that,” Schumer said, adding a shutdown “would be much, much worse.”
Schumer’s rational was that in a shutdown, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk would have “complete power as to what to close down because they can decide what is an essential service," he told CNN.
“Shutting the government down would have made it much easier for them, and I'm glad we didn't do it, but we're going to fight them every step of the way, and now we can move on into areas where we have stronger footing,” he added.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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