Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has caved. On Thursday, he urged fellow Democrats to support a Republican-backed funding bill, emphasizing that avoiding a government shutdown was a more pressing priority than rejecting a measure many in his party oppose.
Addressing Senate Democrats first in a private meeting and later in a forceful floor speech, Schumer made it clear that he would vote to advance the GOP-sponsored spending bill, which aims to keep the government open past Friday’s midnight deadline. His remarks suggest that enough Democrats may follow his lead to clear the necessary procedural hurdles, writes The New York Post.
“While the CR bill is very bad, the potential for a shutdown has consequences for America that are much, much worse,” Schumer declared in a Senate floor speech Thursday evening. “Allowing Trump to take even much more power is a far worse option.”
“Under a shutdown, Trump and Elon Musk would have carte blanche to destroy vital government services at a significantly faster rate than they can right now,” he added. “I believe it is my job to make the best choice for the country, to minimize the harms to the American people, therefore, I will vote to keep the government open and not shut it down.”
Republicans have a 53-vote majority in the upper chamber. In order to overcome the 60-vote threshold, they will likely need eight Democrats on board because Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has opposed the House GOP measure to avert a government shutdown.
Schumer joined Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) as one of the few Democrats who revealed plans to support Republicans in overcoming a filibuster.
“This isn’t really a choice—it’s a Hobson’s choice,” Schumer said, according to Politico. “Either we proceed with the bill before us or allow Donald Trump to plunge the country into the chaos of a shutdown. In my view, that is no choice at all.”
Although a faction of Senate Democrats remains opposed to the House GOP measure, others have expressed willingness to advance it in exchange for a vote on an alternative short-term funding plan. Ongoing negotiations between Schumer and Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicate that Republicans will likely require Democratic votes to overcome a key procedural obstacle in Friday’s vote.
Despite his own stance, Schumer emphasized that individual Senate Democrats would ultimately make their own decisions. “I will not twist arms,” he said, leaving the final outcome uncertain as lawmakers approach the impending deadline.
