Schumer has a tough job right now. He has to try and secure some victories for the failing Democrat Party.
And Chuck Schumer is kicking and screaming in this desperate attempt to derail Republicans.
With the September 30 deadline to fund the government fast approaching, Democratic leaders in Congress are scrambling to align their ranks and project strength in what promises to be a contentious appropriations fight. On Tuesday night, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) huddled with top Democrats from the House and Senate Appropriations Committees in a private strategy session. Their mission: to chart a clear path forward and ensure a cohesive message as the funding showdown looms.
The meeting followed a Senate vote where Democrats overwhelmingly supported a bill funding military construction and Veterans Affairs—the first such funding measure to hit the Senate floor this session.
Initially, some Senate Democrats had threatened to block the bill, frustrated by what they saw as overly partisan moves by Senate Republicans.
“We all want to pursue a bipartisan, bicameral appropriations process,” Schumer stated. “That’s how it’s always been done, successfully, and we believe that, however, the Republicans are making it extremely difficult to do that.”
Held near the Senate floor, the closed-door gathering aimed to unify Democrats on a messaging strategy for the weeks ahead. It also sought to avoid a repeat of last March’s chaos, when Schumer and Jeffries clashed, nearly triggering a government shutdown before Schumer reluctantly backed a funding extension.
Republicans point out that when Schumer led the Senate, none of the House GOP’s spending bills reached the floor, as the appropriations process traditionally begins in the House.
Since becoming Senate Majority Leader, Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) has vowed to restore normal order by pushing through all 12 individual spending bills—a practice not achieved since the late 1990s.
“Frankly, I think a lot of us around here think [this] is long overdue,” Thune stated.
Democrats, however, are losing patience with Republicans, citing two highly partisan measures—President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” and a $9 billion clawback package—that were rammed through without their input.
Thune argues that Democrats are using the clawback package as an excuse to stall the appropriations process, risking a government shutdown.
In the Senate, most bills need 60 votes to clear the filibuster, requiring at least some bipartisan support.
Earlier this year, Senate Democrats grudgingly backed a House GOP-led funding extension. Now, they’re demanding a seat at the table.
Jeffries stressed that Democrats will cooperate if the process is “bipartisan and bicameral in nature,” pinning the blame for any potential shutdown on House Republicans.
“House Republicans are, in fact, marching us toward a possible government shutdown that will hurt the American people,” he explained.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) shot back, accusing Democrats of scheming to derail operations. “They’re gaming out how they can shut the government down,” Johnson said to Bloomberg Government.
As the deadline nears, Democrats are racing to solidify their stance, aiming to skew the narrative and sidestep past missteps in a battle to keep the government running.
Stay tuned to the Conservative Column.
