Chuck Schumer will vote to keep government open: ‘For Donald Trump, a shutdown would be a gift’

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., says he will vote to keep the government open, warning that a shutdown has worse consequences for Americans and would only empower President Donald Trump and Elon Musk further.

“I believe it is my job to make the best choice for the country to minimize the harms to the American people. Therefore, I will vote to keep the government open and not shut it down,” Schumer said while speaking on the Senate floor on Thursday. 

The Democratic leader rattled off a list of reasons he disagrees with the House-passed stopgap spending bill, but added, “I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option.”

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A vote to limit debate on the short-term spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, is tentatively scheduled for sometime after 1:15 p.m. on Friday. There is not a set time for a final confirmation vote yet, and it is uncertain whether the measure will garner enough Democratic votes to move forward. 

Schumer told reporters on Thursday night that he made his decision because, “We want the attention of the American people, not focused on different bills that they would bring to the floor during the shutdown. We’d rather focus on our message, which is beginning to work.”

According to him, the Democrats’ message is that “they’re hurting the middle class to give tax breaks for the billionaires.”

When asked what changed between Wednesday and Thursday to prompt his decision, the Democratic leader told reporters, “As of yesterday there were not enough votes to pass it.”

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“I thought I would let people know that,” Schumer explained. “But there were a bunch of undecided votes. And as members study it and look at it, each is making his or her own decision.”

Schumer’s floor announcement comes after days of tense Democratic Senate caucus meetings, the most recent of which featured yelling so loud it could be heard through the wooden door by the press, who believed it to be coming from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., though her office could not confirm. 

He had claimed in remarks on Wednesday that his caucus was “unified,” and that they backed an alternative CR that would last just one month, as opposed to the House-passed bill. 

The continuing resolution, which passed through the House on Tuesday in a nearly party-line vote of 217-213, would keep the government open for the next six months, for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

But the unity Schumer described was not evident as divisions quickly became apparent between Democrats. 

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“I’ve seen the videos that they’re going to shut it down,” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who has fiercely criticized those willing to shut the government down, told reporters. 

“I’m like, that’s spicy. Spicy, I don’t know,” he told reporters sarcastically. “I don’t know if they’ll do it or not.” 

He was referring to several of his colleagues who had preemptively said they planned to oppose the stopgap bill’s advancement. 

One of the lawmakers to do so, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., told reporters there are “no good choices,” while defending his decision. 

Questioned about his claim of caucus unity, Schumer’s office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication. 

FETTERMAN MAVERICK PERSONA DOESN’T TRANSLATE AS SENATOR HELPS BLOCK TRANS SPORTS BILL

If a spending bill is not passed by 11:59 on Friday, the government will officially enter a shutdown. 

Fetterman claimed that allowing that to happen would be “a gift for the Republicans.”

“In fact, if anything, I think, they’re effectively daring us to do that,” he said. 

Democrats in Congress have long criticized their Republican counterparts for being seemingly much more willing to allow a shutdown to take place, with some even considering it necessary. 

On the other hand, lawmakers in the Democratic Party have consistently opposed doing so and allowing it to happen in this case would be a significant departure. 

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.