Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) in a letter to colleagues Monday warned of the possibility of a “Trump shutdown” and reminded fellow senators that Democrats have the power to make or break any bill to fund the government past March 14.
Democrats in the Senate and House are looking more seriously at the looming funding deadline as an important point of leverage to slow or stop President Trump’s and Elon Musk’s freezing of federal payments, lockout of federal workers and plans to slash government spending by trillions of dollars.
Schumer wrote that Democrats want to avoid a shutdown and argued that if Congress fails to reach a government funding deal by the March 14 deadline, the fault would lie with Trump.
“Legislation in the Senate requires 60 votes and Senate Democrats will use our votes to help steady the ship for the American people in these turbulent times. It is incumbent on responsible Republicans to get serious and work in a bipartisan fashion to avoid a Trump Shutdown,” Schumer wrote.
Schumer released the letter a day after rank-and-file Democrats threatened to use a government shutdown as a last resort to stop Trump’s and Musk’s aggressive review of federal programs, which has resulted in layoffs, furloughs and a pause on broad swaths of federal funding.
Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he would be willing to shut the government down if that’s what it takes to put a stop to stop Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency.
“I cannot support efforts that will continue this lawlessness that we’re seeing when it comes to this administration’s actions,” Kim said. “And for us to be able to support government funding in that way only for them to turn it around, to dismantle the government. That is not something that should be allowed.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), speaking on CNN, said “Democrats will use every tool possible to protect Americans” in what he called a “crisis.”
Schumer said in his letter that Democrats would prefer to get a government funding deal, as long as it’s a fair one.
“Democrats stand ready to support legislation that will prevent a government shutdown,” he wrote.
He accused Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) of abandoning the regular order of moving appropriations bills to the floor, setting up a standoff for mid-March.
Republicans accused Schumer of doing the same thing — sidelining the regular process for considering appropriations bills — at the end of last year, when Democrats still controlled the Senate.
Schumer laid out a four-pronged approach to resisting Trump’s blitzkrieg of executive orders and actions to remake the executive branch.
In addition to using the March 14 deadline as leverage to apply brakes on the administration in law, he said Democrats would fight back through legislative oversight, litigation and communication and mobilization.
Schumer and Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, on Monday morning announced the launch of a web portal to allow federal whistleblowers to report potential lawlessness, abuses of power and wrongdoing directly to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
The Democratic leader pointed out that Democratic state attorneys general are challenging Trump in court and that federal courts have already issued injunctions stopping a funding freeze ordered by the Office of Management and Budget.
