Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, a minority leader, broke with his party on Thursday and stood up enough democrats to advance in the Republican Law to maintain federal financing after midnight Friday, arguing that the Democrats could not afford many of them.
During a private lunch with Democrats, Mr. Schumer amazed many of his colleagues by announcing that he was planning to vote to allow the law to move the GOP law, and indicated that he had enough votes to help the Republicans deepen any Filibuster against this measure.
It was a tournament from just days earlier when Mr Schumer said that the Democrats were “unification” against legislationAnd a remarkable step at a time when many party members in the chambers and progressive activists loudly agitated to block the senators in the break -up of President Trump.
In the speech, Mr. Schumer announced his plan to vote on the Senate floor to proceed with a Republican measure that would fund the government by September 30. He argued that if the Democrats were standing in the way, it would lead to a shutdown that would further seize Mr. Trump and Elon Musk in their efforts to defend and deepen the federal programs.
“The Republican law is a terrible choice,” said Mr. Schumer in his evening speech. “It’s a deep guerrilla.” They do not solve too many needs of this country. But I believe that allowing Donald Trump to take much more power through the government shutdown is a much worse choice. ”
In the shutdown, Mr Schumer said: “Trump’s administration should be full of authority, programs and personnel non -essential staff without promising to reappear.”
He also warned that if the government closed, Mr. Trump and the Republicans would not have the motivation to reopen it, because they could selectively finance “their favorite departments and agencies, leaving other vital services that do not like to disappear.”
His announcement came a little more than 24 hours before the deadline. If the Congress does not approve the legislation prolongs federal financing, it will penetrate on Saturday at 12:01.
At the meeting with reporters after his notes, Mr. Schumer refused to confirm that he had sufficient democratic voices to move legislation by previous procedural obstacles and said that senators were making their own decisions. But other Democrats said they were convinced that he had support to move the measures forward.
The Republicans of the Senate are expected to need support for at least eight democrats to follow the Filibuster. In addition to Mr. Schumer, only one Democrat, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, he said he would support the bill.
Mr Schumer has long seen responsibility for the shutdown of the government as a political Albatros. However, many Democrats on the Capitol hill refused to go along with a measure of stopgap expenditure, because it considered their only leverage against Mr. Trump. On Tuesday, everyone except one house of Democrat voted against the plan, and many of them, together with their colleagues in the Senate, spent the last few days pushing to hold on to him to attack the President.
Representatives of Alexandria tail-Cortez from New York at CNN said it would be a “mistake” for Mr. Schumer to block an account.
“I hope that the individuals who are considering it will consider it again,” Mrs. Tila-Cortez said. “I really do it.” I don’t think New Yords want it. ”
In long discussions of groups with closed doors in the last three days, the Democrats of the Senate have suffered about how to handle the expenditure law, which would maintain government funding to a large extent in the next six months.
Many have described the impossible choice between two evil: support for a law that would provide Trump’s administration to a wide width to continue his unilateral efforts to reduce government employees and programs, or shutdown to Mr. Trump and his team Broad Leeway to finance what to finance.
Several Democrats – including centrist and progressivists – said they could not support legislation that would give the President and Musk this kind of power. They determined that Republicans unilaterally developed legislation and refused to consider any changes to gain their votes, which basically dared to blame for politically toxic shutdown.
“What everyone is struggling with is that one of the results is terrible,” said Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico. “This president put us in a position where many people voters will be injured and injured in both directions.” So people struggle with what is the least worst result. ”
Thursday’s session was particularly emotional, stretched for two hours and sometimes grew heated. At one point, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand from New York could be heard by closed doors and shouted, “It won’t be a normal shutdown!”
Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, who was widely considered one of the Democrats who could be willing to join the Republicans to overcome Filibuster, announced that he would be against measures, and added that his decision was the most difficult calling he made since he was elected five years ago.
“This is a calculation I have fought for days – actually weeks,” he said. “It’s a hard call, so we spent a lot of time speaking.” This is one of the challenging things on every way: there are a lot of unknown. ”
However, he added that Mr Musk “caused confusion to our government,” and said that the Republican law, which was drawn up after consultation with the White House, “is designed to give him more influence, more power”.
“This is not the way we should finance the government,” said Mr. Kelly.
The Republicans tried to escalate pressure on the democrats to take over and end the expenditure fighting, and warned on Thursday that the moment for decision -making was at hand.
“As the expression continues, it is time for the Democrats to hunt or cut bait,” said Senator John Thune, Republican and majority leader in South Dakota. “The Democrats have to decide whether to support the legislation of the financing that came from the house or whether they will close the government.” Meanwhile, it looks like they’re planning to turn it off. ”
Were the inhabitants of the Columbia district at the same time Protesters on the hill Capitol To require the Democrats of the Senate to block an expenditure account that would reduce the budget of $ 1 billion for the district in the next six months. The crowds of school age children carried signs made of crayons and colored brands, one of them read“You cut my father’s job and now you want to cut my school,” he interrupted four sad faces.
Some Democrats said that they were still trying to assess whether the best approach to reining in Mr. Trump defeated the expenditure plan or allowed him to become law.
“We intend to contact and stop the slip to Trump’s tyrannical and autocratic power that happens in real time and causes damage to real people,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, a democrat of Connecticut, who said he would vote to block his account. “I am considerate of my colleagues who have a different opinion with the same goal to prevent uncontrolled and unrestrained dictatorial power for President Trump and Elon Musk.”
