07.10.25

Are Democrats Barreling Toward Another Schumer Shutdown?

With More Than 80 Days Until the Government Funding Deadline, Senate Democrats Are Threatening to Shut Down the Government Over One-Tenth of One Percent of Government Funding

“Senator Schumer’s latest Dear Colleague letter is wildly hypocritical. The true ‘affront to the bipartisan appropriations process’ was him refusing to put a single bipartisan Committee-passed FY25 appropriations bill on the floor last year as Majority Leader…not a SINGLE one. His disastrous decision and failure of leadership is what led to the full-year CR we’re operating under—and the rescissions package Congress is considering and he’s lamenting.” – Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.)

THREE MONTHS AFTER NEARLY FAILING TO FUND THE GOVERNMENT, LEADER SCHUMER IS ONCE AGAIN EGGING ON A SHUTDOWN, USING A $9.4 BILLION RESCISSIONS PACKAGE AS HIS LATEST EXCUSE

  • “Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) warned in a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter to Democrats on Tuesday that a Republican package to claw back funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid would ‘poison’ any bipartisan goodwill needed to negotiate the 12 annual spending bills.” (The Hill: Schumer warns package to claw back funding would ‘poison’ annual spending talks – 7/8/25)
  • “[I]t is absurd for them to expect Democrats to act as business as usual and engage in a bipartisan appropriations process to fund the government, while they concurrently plot to pass a purely partisan rescissions bill.” – Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)
  • “Schumer's warning represents a bold gambit that heightens tensions ahead of another government funding showdown — just months after a group of Senate Democrats backed down from a previous showdown and drew heavy backlash from their base.” (NBC News: Trump's push to claw back funding ignites a fight that threatens a government shutdown – 7/9/25)
  • The federal government is operating on a Continuing Resolution (CR) because while in the majority last year, Schumer did not bring a single appropriations bill to the floor for consideration – despite the Senate Appropriations Committee having passed 11 of the 12 appropriations bills by the beginning of last August. (CNN: Trump’s presidency moves into a new phase with a critical test of his power in Congress – 3/10/25; Punchbowl News: AM: The appropriations mess rolls on – 7/31/24; Congressional Research Service: Appropriations Status Table: FY2025 – accessed 7/9/25)
  • Flashback: Congress passed and President Clinton signed a rescissions package into law in 1995 that cut over $16 billion in spending out of the $1.5 trillion the federal government spent that year. (The Washington Post: Hill Leaders, Clinton agree on $16.4 billion in cuts – 6/30/95; U.S. Department of the Treasury: Bureau of the Fiscal Service: Annual Report of the U.S. Government 1995 – accessed 7/9/25)
    • The $16 billion in rescissions accounted for roughly 1% of all federal spending in 1995. (U.S. Department of the Treasury: Bureau of the Fiscal Service: Annual Report of the U.S. Government 1995 – accessed 7/9/25)
    • Then-Senators Joe Biden and Harry Reid both voted to pass the 1995 rescissions package. (U.S. Senate: Roll Call Vote #321 – 7/21/95)
    • By comparison, the $9.4 billion rescissions package Senate Republicans are currently considering only accounts for roughly 0.1% of all federal spending. (The Hill: Schumer warns package to claw back funding would ‘poison’ annual spending talks – 7/8/25; Congressional Budget Office: The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2025 to 2035 – accessed 7/9/25)

SCHUMER APPEARS WILLING TO GIVE IN TO PROGRESSIVES WHO WERE ANGERED OVER HIS VOTE TO KEEP THE GOVERNMENT OPEN EARLIER THIS YEAR

  • “Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer caught hell from the Democratic base when he helped Republicans keep federal agencies open in March by passing a long-term CR.” (Punchbowl News: AM: Will the government shut down? Let's explore. – 7/9/25)
  • “Lawmakers and activists alike said they wanted Schumer to fight harder against Republican rule of the government…” (Axios: Schumer draws line in government funding fight – 7/8/25)
  • “Liberal youth groups are piling onto Chuck Schumer, urging the Senate minority leader in a new letter to fight more aggressively against President Donald Trump or resign as leader… The sideswipe against Schumer is the latest sign of mounting pressure he is facing from within his party after voting last week for a GOP stopgap funding bill.” (Politico: 4 more progressive groups pressure Schumer to 'stand up' or resign as leader – 3/20/25)
  • “So what about this toxic political climate makes it likely that Democrats will be eager to work with Republicans to keep the government funded?” (Punchbowl News: AM: Will the government shut down? Let's explore. – 7/9/25)

IF SCHUMER CAVES TO THE FAR LEFT AND SHUTS DOWN THE GOVERNMENT, HE WILL BE IGNORING HIS OWN ADVICE FROM EARLIER THIS YEAR

  • “Schumer has argued for years that the party that instigates a shutdown gets blamed for it, and he has described his decision to support the bill as ‘no choice at all.’” (The Washington Post: Chuck Schumer is listening — but he’s still sure he was right – 4/20/25)
  • “Schumer was determined from the start to prevent a shutdown. He believed one could last nine months or longer.” (The Washington Post: Chuck Schumer is listening — but he’s still sure he was right – 4/20/25)
  • “Schumer defended his handling of the showdown with Republicans and imagined the flood of complaints he would be fielding if Democrats had forced a government shutdown. ‘I would’ve said: “It’s a shutdown. You can’t do anything,”’ Schumer said as the sun set behind him on the National Mall. ‘And then they would’ve said, “Why’d you let that happen?” So I felt I did the right thing.’” (The Washington Post: Chuck Schumer is listening — but he’s still sure he was right – 4/20/25)