Progressives are beginning to fear Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer may once again “cave” in budget negotiations with Senate Republicans, even as Democrats hold a crucial bargaining chip related to healthcare costs.
Democrats are pushing the GOP to make concessions in order to fund the government, namely by extending a health insurance subsidy that, if allowed to lapse, will result in tens of millions of Americans paying higher premiums at the end of the year.
They are also hoping to use the negotiations to curtail Trump’s ability to rescind federal funding appropriated by Congress and restore funds that have been stripped from public broadcasting and foreign aid.
On Friday, after Republicans passed their version of the bill through the House, both the Republican and Democratic versions of the Senate bills were struck down by the other side.
In an interview Sunday with Dana Bash on CNN, Schumer (D-NY) lamented that Republicans were attempting to ram a bill through with “zero input from Democrats,” adding that “that’s not how to get things done.”
Congressional Democrats have described a refusal to extend the healthcare subsidies as a red line. But Schumer has come across somewhat shakier in his commitment to that fight, saying last week that “We don’t have a red line, but we know we have to help the American people.”
Later in the interview with Bash, Schumer said, “I hope and pray that Trump will sit down with us and negotiate a bipartisan bill. That’s how it’s always been done in the past. That’s how shutdowns have been avoided in the past.”
Bash pushed Schumer to clarify his position: “If he doesn’t—I’m just confirming here—You will vote ‘no,’ is that correct?”
Schumer responded: “We are hoping that he will negotiate with us. So far, he hasn’t. We’ve had two bills in the House and Senate and neither of them have passed. Our Democrats are firm. We need to get something done to relieve the distress the American people are in.”
Bash again asked for clarity: “That sounded like a ‘yes,’ but you can confirm that, and we can move on. Is that accurate?”
Once again, he neglected to give a clear answer, instead reiterating that “The bottom line is that we must—we must—get a better bill than what they have, plain and simple.”
Schumer’s antics during his last budget showdown with Republicans are looming large in the minds of progressives. In March, the Democratic leader faced perhaps the greatest groundswell of outrage in his career when he abandoned promises to hold firm against a Republican-led continuing resolution that funded the government for six months and expanded Trump’s power to override Congress’s control over spending.
Many Democrats accused him of “caving,” with some calling for him to resign from leadership altogether.
Schumer justified the decision at the time by warning that a temporary shutdown would give Trump greater latitude to consolidate his power. Democrats who voted to break the stalemate also reportedly worried about the political ramifications of being blamed for a shutdown, which could disrupt the functioning of many government services and result in more layoffs of federal workers.
Republicans are reportedly betting that Schumer will cave once again. CNN‘s Manu Raju reported that late last week, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) told him that “Chuck Schumer is not gonna shut the government down.”
His unwillingness to make a firm commitment on Sunday has reignited fears that yet another capitulation may be coming—even as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and others warn that Republicans’ budget proposal would cause healthcare premiums to rise by an average of 75% for millions of Americans who are already struggling with the cost of living.
Sam Seder, host of the progressive talk show The Majority Report,called Schumer’s comments “pathetic.”
“It’s not an ultimatum if there are no consequences,” Seder said. “This is just Schumer begging Senate Republicans for a fig leaf to justify his coming cave and weak leadership.”
Mehdi Hasan, founder of the media outlet Zeteo, expressed bewilderment that Schumer had been reduced to “literally hoping and praying” for Republicans to act differently rather than using leverage.
Sixty votes would be needed for a continuing resolution to pass through the Senate, meaning that seven Democrats would need to join all 53 Republicans in order for it to pass. On Friday, just one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.), joined Republicans in voting for their version of the bill while Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Rand Paul (Ky.) joined Democrats in voting against it.
The progressive activist group Indivisible has urged constituents to call their Democratic senators and pressure them to use their bargaining power and reject any deal that does not include significant GOP concessions.
“The GOP is threatening to shut the government down at the end of this month unless Dems let them take healthcare away from millions and hand Trump another blank check to continue his power grab,” the group said in a call to action on Bluesky. “Democrats need to keep opposing any funding deal that enables GOP healthcare cuts or allows Trump’s chaos and lawlessness to go unchecked. We must make sure Democrats are fighting like hell and Republicans are held accountable.”