Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) forced the Democratic caucus into an abrupt about-face after senators publicly said they would oppose the GOP's continuing resolution to keep the government open and allow tech billionaire Elon Musk to continue shuttering government programs.
Schumer bucked many in his party and said Democrats would provide enough votes to avert a shutdown. He explained his fear that the Trump administration would use a government shutdown as a pretext to make even more funding and personnel cuts that would be hard to reverse after the shutdown ended.
Nonetheless, the move provoked outrage from many Democratic and anti-Trump commenters on social media, with many feeling like they were deceived or that nobody is putting up any real resistance to the Trump administration.
"Squandering the little power you have left is definitely NOT meeting this terrible moment in history," wrote Leadership Conference voting rights attorney Leslie Proll.
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In response to commenter Matthew Yglesias suggesting Senate Democrats who back Schumer on this are "taking one for the team," columnist Max Kennerly replied, "They're not 'taking one for the team,' they're giving up leverage against Republicans so they can give Republicans a blank check to continue doing everything they've been doing — including wrecking the country illegally shutting down every part of the federal gov't they don't like."
Former federal prosecutor Eric Lisann tore into Schumer's floor speech announcing the decision, writing, "Nonsensical blather from Schumer disguising, poorly, cowardice from the Democratic caucus. Republicans are stooges but they have imposed party discipline. Democratic leadership has been soft and ineffective and is responsible for allowing Trump to run roughshod over this husk of a Congress. They are part of the problem not of the solution."
A small handful of people defended Schumer's decision, however, including former Senate staffer Adam Jentleson.
"Schumer is right," he argued. "Dems are understandably spoiling for a fight but this was not it. The idea that there was leverage in a shutdown was magical thinking - it’d be a gift to DOGE, more people would be hurt and it would’ve ended with a worse deal. Fight - but pick smart fights."