Schumer won’t say if there will be enough Democratic votes to advance the GOP funding bill

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer leaves the Democratic caucus lunch at the US Capitol on Thursday.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declined to say if there will be enough Democratic votes to advance the House-passed GOP funding bill tomorrow, shortly after he announced he would vote to avert a shutdown. 

“Members are making their own decisions right now,” he said tonight. “It’s not an easy decision. I think that people in my caucus have made their — are making their decisions, and I made mine,” he added.

Yesterday, Schumer went to the floor and declared that Republicans would not have the votes to advance their funding bill, and said that Democrats were united behind a shorter, stop gap funding bill. Pressed on how he would respond to Democratic voters who will be disappointed that he is are caving, Schumer defended his decision.

“Well, look, the bottom line is, you have to make these decisions based on what is best for not only your party but your country. And I firmly believe and always have that I’ve made the right decision,” he said.

The next steps: The New York senator said that they are still negotiating a time agreement and possible amendment votes, and that an amendment vote for Democrats’ one-month funding bill is still on the table.

“We have to work that out with Thune, but that would be our preference, yes,” he said, referring to the GOP Majority Leader John Thune.

Schumer also said that he spoke in the last few hours with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who opposed the GOP-led funding bill.

Vance deflects on possibility of recession

Vice President JD Vance deflected Thursday when asked if he could rule out the possibility of a recession, saying in part “you never can predict the future.” “Well, look, I think you never can predict the future, but I think the economy, the fundamentals of the economy, are actually quite strong right now,” the vice president said in an interview on Fox News. Some context: Fears of a severe economic downturn have escalated in recent weeks. US stocks plunged earlier this week after President Donald Trump said he wouldn’t rule out a recession. Goldman Sachs has increased its chances of a recession in the next year to one-in-five, and former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers told CNN on Monday there is a “real possibility” of a recession caused by massive uncertainty over Trump’s policy. Trump’s aides have downplayed recession fears, suggesting instead that new tariffs will cause momentary “disruption” as global trade is realigned toward the United States. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday defended Trump’s tariffs as a necessary measure to save the US economy. “Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people,” she said, arguing that tariffs are needed to bring production back to the United States and punish countries that have taken advantage of the US in the past. Economists have warned the burden of tariffs could ultimately fall on American consumers.

Schumer defends decision to vote for GOP funding bill

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer defended his decision to back down on opposing the GOP’s government funding bill, warning Thursday evening that “every part of the government” would be at the Trump administration’s “wicked disposal” if the government were to shut down. “Every program, every part of government would be at their disposal, their wicked disposal,” he said on MSNBC. “So that’s the problem here. It’s not that the (continuing resolution) is good, it’s horrible. And all things being equal, we should have opposed it. But the alternative being a shutdown makes things worse.” Schumer said the Trump administration was continuing on with its agenda regardless of whether Democrats vote against their funding bill. “Look, they’re already, even without this CR, they’re already doing it,” he said. “And we have to look just a month ahead and see how bad a shutdown would be for all the things we believe in.”