Politics
Leading Dem Presidential Candidate Fumes Over Lack Of Government Shutdown
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who is widely seen as a leading presidential candidate for the Democratic Party in 2028, suggested that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) should have followed through on his threats to shut down the government.
Schumer backed down and provided Senate Republicans with the necessary votes to invoke cloture on Thursday, thus allowing the body to pass the House-passed continuing resolution that will fund the federal government through September. Schumer had initially threatened to shut down the government in hopes of gaining concessions from Republicans before balking at the idea.
Progressive Democrats — after years of attacking Republicans over government shutdowns — have attacked Schumer over refusing to “fight” by shutting down the government. In an interview with CNN, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) attacked Schumer for “betraying” Democrat voters over not voting to shut down the government.
During Friday’s episode of “Real Time,” Shapiro endorsed the progressive wing of the party’s tactics and expressed frustration with Schumer. The Democrat governor told host Bill Maher that he wished Schumer had “told Republicans “we need A., B., C., and D. for the Democratic Party and force the Republicans to meet him halfway on those issues and deliver something for the folks who are worried now.”
If Democrat demands were not met, Shapiro stated that he would have preferred a government shutdown.
“Republicans proposed a budget and Chuck Schumer said he would vote for it and then did and got ten Democratic senators to vote with him. The other side of the party is furious at this, AOC pretty much called him a traitor. Where do you stand on this?” Maher asked. “Did Schumer do the right thing or is the other part of the party right? Because that is the divide in the party.”
“I think it is a false choice to suggest you need either/or, either you need that resistance, that fight, that opposition or you need to find ways to compromise and come together. I think that’s a false choice,” Shapiro responded, adding that he does not view himself as an “expert” on D.C. politics. Maher then cut in to note that in this instance, the vote quite literally was between shutting down the government or not.
“I would have liked to see, when Chuck Schumer had leverage here, to say, we need A., B., C., and D. for the Democratic Party and force the Republicans to meet him halfway on those issues and deliver something for the folks who are worried now,” Shapiro answered.
