Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has postponed three events on his book tour — including one in Washington, D.C. — amid widespread backlash to his capitulation to Republicans during last week’s spending negotiations.
According to multiple outlets, scheduled events in Baltimore, New York City, and Washington, D.C., surrounding the Thursday release of his book Antisemitism in America: A Warning were suddenly postponed on Monday morning. In a statement to The New York Times, a spokesperson for the minority leader said the events needed to be rescheduled due to “security concerns.”
Last week, Schumer drew the ire of his own party after he publicly supported the GOP’s Continuing Resolution (CR) floated by the GOP, which included provisions aimed at codifying President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s assault on government institutions and congressionally authorized spending. In a rare moment in which the Democratic minority could have used the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to force Republicans to the negotiation table or risk a government shutdown, the minority leader rolled over and showed the Trump administration the soft belly of political cowardice.
In a Sunday interview with The New York Times, Schumer defended himself, claiming that he was caught in the middle of “a very, very difficult decision between two bad options, a partisan Republican C.R. [continuing resolution] and a shutdown that Musk and Trump wanted. For me, the shutdown of the government would just be devastating and far worse than the Republican C.R.”
Schumer argued that under a shutdown, Trump and Republicans would be able to close large swaths of the federal government and simply refuse to reopen them. “So their goal of decimating the whole federal government, of cutting agency after agency after agency, would occur under a shutdown,” Schumer argued.
When pressed about Democratic backlash to the decision from prominent figures — including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) — over his decision, Schumer responded that he “knew there would be divisions” but “we have respect for one another.” The minority leader also attempted to excuse himself by arguing that Democrats didn’t “think that [House Speaker Mike] Johnson could get all his votes,” and were thus unable to negotiate a bipartisan CR.
“The Republicans would like to have some freedom from Trump, but they won’t until we bring him down in popularity,” Schumer claimed at one point. “That happened with Bush in 2005. It happened with Trump in 2017. When it happens, I am hopeful that our Republican colleagues will resume working with us. And I talk to them. One of the places is in the gym. When you’re on that bike in your shorts, panting away next to a Republican, a lot of the inhibitions come off.”
The inhibitions may be relaxed at the Capitol’s gym, but clearly whatever comradery is being forged between the stationary bikes isn’t translating into inter-party cooperation on legislation.
Nine other Democrats voted with Schumer in support of the Republican resolution. A shutdown was avoided, but the GOP was still able to cut over $13 billion in non-defense spending, pour billions into funding for mass deportations, and make massive cuts to other GOP targets.
On Friday, President Trump praised Schumer for voting with Republicans. “I have great respect for what Schumer did,” Trump said during a speech at the Justice Department. “He went out and he said ‘I’m going to have to vote with the Republicans because it’s the right thing to do.’ I couldn’t believe what I heard, but I think he’s going to get some credit for it.”
Schumer may be getting credit from the opposing party for helping them solidify their fiscal agenda, but his own party looks ready to run him out of town — or at least the local book shop.
