Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is continuing to take heat from fellow Democrats after voting to help advance a Republican spending bill rather than risk a government shutdown.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, both Democrats, criticized Schumer in recent days, with Pritzker declining to back him for minority leader.
“Look, he’s the elected leader,” Pritzker said after an event at the Center for American Progress. “I disagree with what he did, and vehemently so. But I also know that he has done good work as a Senate leader in other ways.”
Pritzker said he hoped Schumer would stand up for the values they share. At the event, he praised Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth for voting against the bill but did not mention Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who voted with Schumer, Politico reported.
In a podcast interview with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Walz, who was Kamala Harris’ running mate in the last presidential election, said Schumer has ceded the party to Republicans.
“I believe that Chuck 100 percent believes that he made a decision that reduced the pain and the risk to Americans,” Walz said. “I see it now that we’re in a point where … that pain is coming anyway and I think we gave up our leverage.”
Walz rerecorded a previous interview with Newsom to address Schumer’s vote, Politico reported. Walz said Democrats who supported the bill will face criticism for any negative consequences.
“To the American public who doesn’t do this for a living and is out doing their job, they said, ‘well, they passed this budget, and they agreed with Donald Trump, and now we all own that,’” Walz said. “I think you should have made Donald Trump justify why things were getting so bad.”
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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