After Senate Democrats quickly caved on a standoff with Republicans over government funding, the House Democrats who stood in near-unanimous opposition to the bill are aiming their frustration on one person: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Schumer said on Wednesday that Democrats were “unified” in opposition to the legislation. But a day later, he announced that he and much of his caucus would vote yes.
Minutes later, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — one of the few New York Democrats who could mount a serious primary challenge against Schumer — was telling reporters at an annual retreat for House Democrats that Schumer’s decision was “a huge slap in the face.”
“There is a deep sense of outrage and betrayal, and this is not just progressive Democrats, this is across the board, the entire party,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
On Friday, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries repeatedly declined to answer reporters’ questions about whether he still had confidence in Schumer’s leadership in the Senate.
“Next question,” he said, when asked if it was time for new Democratic leadership in the chamber.
Though House Democratic leaders have avoided using Schumer’s name, the top three leaders in the House made it clear they weren’t happy with his decision to work with Senate Republicans to pass the bill.
“House Democrats will not be complicit. We remain strongly opposed to the partisan spending bill under consideration in the Senate,” Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said in a statement Thursday evening.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi was even more outspoken in her opposition.
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk have offered the Congress a false choice between a government shutdown or a blank check that makes a devastating assault on the well-being of working families across America,” she said in a statement.
She said neither the bill nor a shutdown were good options. “But this false choice that some are buying instead of fighting is unacceptable,” Pelosi said. “I salute Leader Hakeem Jeffries for his courageous rejection of this false choice, and I am proud of my colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus for their overwhelming vote against this bill.”
Aguilar told reporters Friday that House Democrats have been in a distinct position relative to their Senate counterparts. “We were the ones that had to take positions first,” he said. “The Senate has the ability to look at the board, and to read press releases and do whatever it is they do. We’re the ones that have to take the vote. On Tuesday, we did that. We’re standing up for the American people, and the American people will be watching.
Jeffries has been adamant that the Republican legislation was also “not acceptable,” as it is set to make hundreds of spending reductions and cuts spending overall by $8 billion over six-and-a-half months.
“The far-right Republican funding bill will unleash havoc on everyday Americans,” Jeffries said.
While Jeffries chose to focus on the harmful effects of the legislation, other Democrats were more focused on Schumer and the fact he chose to go along with Republicans rather than use the government funding battle as a leverage point.
“The reality is we have only two or three real points of leverage in this Congress, and this was one of them.” Rep. Jared Huffman told NOTUS. “So after House Democrats took a strong, unified stand to assert our leverage, it’s beyond deflating to see Sen. Schumer parse, rationalize and surrender on a GOP funding bill that gives Trump and Elon everything they need and leaves us in much worse shape.”
“Whatever Chuck was thinking, he just guaranteed months of Democratic infighting at a time when our unity is essential,” he said. “We will all be speaking to huge town hall audiences next week who will be just as furious at Dems as they are at Republicans, thanks to what Chuck just did.”
Huffman added that he had just spent three days with dozens of his Democratic colleagues at an annual retreat, and the feeling that Senate Democrats had surrendered was “universal.”
“When you have freshman frontliners circulating letters to Schumer trying to talk him out of this terrible decision, that tells you everything,” he said.
More than 60 House Democrats, led by freshman Rep. Derek Tran, wrote to Schumer Friday urging him to oppose the government funding bill, calling the legislation a “partisan continuing resolution that legitimizes President Trump and the Republican party’s dismantling of government.”
But as much as House Democrats want to blame Schumer, there are other Democrats who think he’s going along with the Republican bill because that’s where his caucus was headed.
One senior Democratic aide credited Schumer for “falling on a grenade” for the party.
“Our base needs to grow up and recognize there isn’t a magic bullet to stop all of this, and shutting down wasn’t that either,” this aide told NOTUS.
Protests have erupted outside of various Schumer offices. Eleven protestors were arrested outside of one of Schumer’s D.C. offices, according to the progressive group Sunrise Movement. Photos show the group holding up signs that say: “Schumer: Step up or step aside.”
Schumer stands by his decision, telling reporters Thursday night that he decided to join with Republicans on the bill because it was the best option.
“The bottom line is you have to make these decisions based on what is best for not your party, but your country,” Schumer said. “And I firmly believe, and always have, that I’ve made the right decision.”
As for backlash from within his party, Schumer said he believes Senate Democrats “understand that I came to that conclusion and respect it.”
“People realize it’s a tough choice, but realize I made the decision based on what I thought were the merits,” he said.
Rank-and-file Senate Democrats seem largely disappointed about helping Republicans but have said they also understand why Schumer made this decision.
“Well I’m a ‘no’ vote, but I understand where he’s coming from,” said Vermont Sen. Peter Welch. “Republicans have successfully put the country in a lose-lose position.”
Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper noted that Schumer was in a “very, very difficult spot.”
“He knew how he was going to get attacked and he still made the decision. It deserves our respect,” Hickenlooper said.
One Democratic senator who opposes the bill — and chose to speak to NOTUS anonymously — said they understood the frustration from House Democrats; they, and many other senators, share in the frustration. But the problem, this senator said, wasn’t just the end result; it was the entire process. Schumer knew a shutdown was approaching, but he never seemed to have a coherent strategy for it.
The strategy was, in fact, confusing. Just one day before Schumer folded, the minority leader went on the Senate floor and boldly declared there weren’t enough Democratic votes for cloture. Senate Republicans said this week that they hadn’t heard from Schumer about potential olive branches, like an amendment vote on the one-month continuing resolution. There were three lengthy lunches for Democrats this week, with each meeting leaving senators in largely sour moods. At the Thursday lunch, one senator could be heard shouting loudly from inside.
This standoff went so poorly it may become a template for future disagreements between the House and Senate. House Republicans proved to their members that, if they can just stick together, the Senate will acquiesce.
Asked whether caving to this bill would invite Republicans to try this again in future negotiations, Schumer replied, “They may try to do that.”
“But if we are successful in our going after Trump, because his policies are so far away from where the American people are, I don’t believe he’ll be as popular in September as he is today,” Schumer said. “And I believe we might have a decent chance.”
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Daniella Diaz and Ursula Perano are reporters at NOTUS. Katherine Swartz and Ben T.N. Mause are NOTUS reporters and Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow. Riley Rogerson contributed reporting to this story.