Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is standing by his decision to vote for a spending bill with Republicans that prevented a government shutdown, despite growing pressure from some in his own party for him to resign.
For the past couple of weeks, Schumer has faced strong criticism from Democrats and their constituents. Many feel that by voting with Republicans to keep the government open, the New York senator went against his own party and gave in to President Donald Trump’s demands.
But Schumer insists he made the right choice. Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” with Kirsten Welker, he firmly rejected calls for him to step down. “Look, I’m not stepping down and let me just say this Kristen, I knew that when I cast my vote against the government shutdown that there would be a lot of controversy and there was,” Schumer said.
Schumer admitted that the short-term funding bill, which temporarily keeps the government open until September, wasn’t perfect, but he argued that a shutdown would have been far worse. He explained that if the government had closed, only “essential” federal employees could have worked, which would have left the executive branch largely in charge. Schumer feared that with President Trump having more control, significant cuts could have been made without the usual pushback from Democrats.
“If Trump had the power, he could’ve started making cuts to things like SNAP, mass transit, Medicaid, and even Social Security and veterans’ benefits,” Schumer warned.
He added, “Sometimes when you’re a leader, you have to do things to avoid a real danger that might come down the curve. And I did it out of pure conviction as to what a leader should do and what the right thing for America and my party was. People disagree.”
While Schumer faces calls for his resignation from some Democratic voters, no Democratic senators have formally demanded he step down. However, some have hinted that the party may need new leadership. Senator Michael Bennet from Colorado recently mentioned that the party would have future discussions about Democratic leadership, adding, “Let me just say it’s important for people to know when it’s time to go,” which seemed to refer to President Biden’s decision to run for re-election in 2024.
Watch the interview below from NBC News:
