House and Senate Democratic Leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer took turns on Wednesday pummelling Republicans who regret having voted for the reconciliation bill last month.
They also had a plea for their colleagues across the aisle: If you disagreed with the reconciliation bill, block the rescissions bill, which includes tweaks to the reconciliation bill meant to allow the Senate to move forward.
Jeffries and Schumer’s remarks come as the House is slated to take a procedural vote Wednesday afternoon that would allow for debate on President Donald Trump’s rescissions package, which aims to codify billions of dollars in funding cuts. The procedural vote also includes language that would allow the House to revise the reconciliation bill so that the Senate can officially start working on reconciliation.
“It’s strange to me that you have Republicans who voted for a bill that they apparently disliked and then publicly sent a letter to their Senate Republican colleagues to say, ‘Stop these provisions from ever becoming law.’ That’s the height of irresponsibility,” Jeffries said. “‘Vote yes and then hope for the best.’ No.”
Some House Republicans have voiced concerns with the reconciliation bill they voted for. Last week, a group of moderate House Republicans called on their Senate colleagues to change the reconciliation package to protect the clean energy tax credits created under the Biden administration.
Jeffries said they now “have a second chance to actually stop this one big, ugly bill and the provisions that you disagree with.”
Schumer said Republicans have a “unique opportunity” to change the reconciliation bill and that “they ought to exercise their power to vote.”
“If even a handful of Republicans vote no this afternoon on the rule, they will have that opportunity,” Schumer said. “They will have the opportunity to change the vicious cuts on Medicaid that hurt so many, that will close rural hospitals in many of their districts. They have the opportunity to restore the tax credits on clean energy, because if they don’t, it’s going to affect their districts.”
Republicans in vulnerable districts told NOTUS they were concerned that the rescissions package would cut programs once lauded by their party.
Schumer said tying together rescissions and reconciliation in Wednesday’s procedural vote was “proof positive how uncomfortable House Republicans are with this bill.”
“They ought to take that discomfort into action,” he said. “They have an opportunity then to amend the actual bill that does such harm to the American people.”
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Tinashe Chingarande is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.