U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
As many people know, last Friday, 10 U.S. Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, voted with Republicans to end their filibuster of the temporary Republican spending bill (“Continuing Resolution” or “CR”) to fund the federal government for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2025. This action advanced the bill to a Senate vote. Once that happened, the result was preordained: Republicans, with 53 Senators, had more than enough votes to pass the CR by simple majority vote.
As background, Republicans hold the majority in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House, and have been in the House majority since January 2023. It is their responsibility to come up with the votes to pass spending bills to keep the federal government open. They have repeatedly failed at their job. For example, last fall, the House failed to pass a government spending bill. Typically, the Republicans then come begging to the Democrats to provide the votes to pass such bills, or at least temporary CRs, to avoid a government shutdown. In return for their votes, it is natural for Democrats to ask for and get something in return, such as provisions to maintain certain programs or funding levels that Democrats favor, or the non-inclusion of certain objectionable Republican provisions.
This time, however, Schumer and nine other Democratic Senators caved to the Republicans, getting nothing. In voting to end the filibuster, then voting for the CR itself, they went against every Democratic U.S. House member except one, and against more than two-thirds of their fellow Democratic Senators. According to Common Dreams:
The bill proposes $13 billion in cuts to non-military spending and imposes no constraints on the Trump administration or unelected billionaire Elon Musk as they eviscerate federal agencies and unlawfully withhold spending authorized by Congress.
After Schumer’s cave on the CR, he defended himself in various interviews, saying that a government shutdown would have been worse than the CR. For example, according to Schumer, Donald Trump’s Executive Branch, including Elon Musk, would have “sole power” to determine which parts of the government would stay open and which would shut down. Schumer also bizarrely added that “I am the best at winning Senate seats,” at a time when Senate Democrats are in the minority after losing seats in the 2024 elections.
Schumer’s explanations fall short. The fundamental problems with his actions on the CR were:
(1) He flip-flopped on this issue in one day. Just the day before, Schumer had stated that the CR, drawn up without Democratic input, was highly partisan and objectionable, and did not have the requisite 60 Senate votes to overcome the Democratic filibuster. If voting against the CR was a bad idea, why did Schumer favor doing that just a day earlier? Likewise, if a government shutdown resulting from failure to pass a CR was such a bad idea, that was known beforehand.
(2) He sold out not only the the House Democrats with whom he had conferred, but also more than two thirds of Senate Democrats. Together, these members of Congress represent the vast majority of Democratic voters. Indeed, many Democratic voters, as well as Democratic House members, had urged Democratic Senators to stand strong against Trump and the Republicans on this issue.
(3) Perhaps most importantly, Schumer and the Democrats should have kept up the filibuster, delayed things, and stymied the Republicans, the way Mitch McConnell and the Republicans frequently did when Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden were president. This could have slowed down the Trump/Musk freight train of dismantling and disabling crucial parts of the federal government, which was happening without a government shutdown, including environmental protection, education, health information, Social Security, civil rights, holding Russia accountable, and more. Additionally, standing up to Trump and the Republicans would have given the Democratic base a much-needed shot in the arm, at a time when so many are feeling dejected about the 2024 election results and Trump administration actions since then.
Continuing the filibuster may or may not have helped. But maybe the Republicans would have offered some concessions to avoid a shutdown, or maybe they would have done so during a shutdown. Now we’ll never know. By caving, the damage that Schumer and nine Senate Democrats did to the morale of the Democratic base is incalculable. For this reason alone, Schumer should be pressured to step down from his Senate Minority Leader post.
Photo by AFGE, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/yR3I7U