moment of turmoil after retreating from his initial vow to block a six-month government funding bill written by Republicans, a move that infuriated fellow Democrats in the House and liberal advocates — and raised questions about his effectiveness as party leader in the Senate.
Schumer, who has served as Democrats’ leader in the Senate for eight years, has typically managed to find consensus within his party. But he now finds himself on the defensive in one of the first major legislative fights of the second Trump administration, even drawing rebukes from longtime allies.
In an extraordinary move, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on Senate Democrats to defy him and reject the GOP bill, while continuing to push for a shorter-term bill to keep the government funded ahead of a midnight deadline.
Pelosi is correct, even if her rationale is classic Nancy P.:
“Democratic senators should listen to the women,” Pelosi said in a statement. “Appropriations leaders Rosa DeLauro and Patty Murray have eloquently presented the case that we must have a better choice: a four-week funding extension to keep [the] government open and negotiate a bipartisan agreement. America has experienced a Trump shutdown before — but this damaging legislation only makes matters worse.”
Alternatively, listen to DeLauro and Murray because they're right, not because of their chromosomes. It takes a gay male (coincidence? very likely) anti-Trump libertarian/conservative Republican to get to the correct position for the valid reason. In the video below, Tim Miller stated (at 1:19 of the video below)
Even if you acknowledge that- that there wasn't a real end game for Schumer to stop the horribleness that we're all experiencing, he still had a political imperative to do everything in his power to fight it in the meantime.
There are a lot of things that Chuck Schumer could have done besides just folding. He could have held an actual filibuster on the Senate floor today that demanded that all of the Social Security offices stay open so our seniors can get the money that they paid into the system. He could have said that he's going to hold up all of the nominees- Dr. Oz is going to be confirmed today. he could have said that he's going to hold up all the nominees as long as Elon Musk continues to illegally fire government workers.
He could have shut the government down for a little while until the Republicans met a simple, early, popular demand- maybe, it's about the VA, maybe it's about Social Security, maybe it's about actually appropriating the funds that Congress has approved.
It would have been fun, and even useful, to watch GOP Senators vote up or down on an amendment about Social Security. They'd either have to vote with Democrats or against Social Security and the latter is very, very dangerous politically.
But that's not what Chuck Schumer wanted and Miller appears to know why. He continued
Donald Trump and Elon Musk are not co-kings. You can make them negotiate- force them, force Donald Trump to negotiate with you. Bring him to the table.. The era of letting Republicans break all the rules, not follow any of the laws, run roughshod over the Democrats, while the Democrats just continue to try to protect every possible existing norm and institution, that era is over, O.K.? That era ended the moment Donald Trump won in 2024, alright?
Of course, Miller does not think that the era of letting Republicans break all rules, not follow laws, and run roughshod over Democrats is over, but that it should be over and Schumer's party leadership be challenged. Pelosi agrees but gender preference may be one of her considerations. Miller added
We might not like that. I don't like that. I'm an institutionalist. I wish that we could protect our institutions but that's not what time it is right now. It is a time for fighting, it is a time for sometimes having to sacrifice some turf, having to sacrifice even certain members in the public interest of the greater good of taking these guys on and making them own their chaos, make them own the chaos they're creating. don't be a participant in the chaos they're creating. "Elections have consequences," Republicans bellow. The result of the elections was Republican control over the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the presidency. Then, government gets shut down. Notwithstanding GOP messaging of the "Schumer Shutdown," the Democratic Party, whose House members wanted to negotiate with the opposition, should have been able successfully to blame the GOP for the shutdown. It's their chaos, make them own it.
Being an institutionalist, as Miller understands, works in normal times. However, that's "not what time it is right now." Institutions, rules, and laws once meant something. But that ship has sailed amid a hostile takeover of the US government, and of democracy.
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