New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand Vote to Prevent a Government Shutdown But Incur Wrath of Democrats Statewide

Two of the ten Democratic senators who voted to advance the Republican-crafted government funding bill on Friday hail from New York—Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. Their choice to vote yes on the GOP bill to avert an imminent government shutdown has deepened a statewide rift among Democrats and angered representatives from Rochester to Albany and down into the Bronx.

“I think they’re going to rue the day they made this decision,” New York representative Joe Morelle, a member of the centrist New Democrat Coalition, said. “Frankly, now I think this just gives license to Republicans to continue to dismantle the government. They now have the acquiescence of Senate Democrats.”

The two New Yorkers’ vote, along with other senators like John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Dick Durbin of Illinois, advanced the funding bill that President Donald Trump signed on Saturday. The stopgap bill is poised to slash non-defense funding by roughly $13 billion and increase defense spending by about $6 billion over current budgets, in effect giving even more leeway to billionaire and Department of Government Efficiency steward Elon Musk’s mission to upend government spending and gut crucial social services across the country.

According to Democrats in the House Committee on Appropriations, the bill “forces evictions of more than 32,000 households, jeopardizes Social Security, slashes infrastructure investments, and cuts nutrition assistance,” “provides ICE with close to a $10 billion blank check to continue its ongoing efforts to increase detention beds with no oversight guardrails,” and “cuts up to $40 million in election security grant funding, which means elections will be less fair and secure.”

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“While the Republican bill is very bad, the potential for a shutdown has consequences for America that are much, much worse,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “It is deeply partisan. It doesn’t address far too many of this country’s needs, but I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power in a government shutdown is a far worse option.”

“The question is: do we pass a partisan bill that harms Americans but keeps the government and courts functioning?” Gillibrand said in a statement on her website. “Or do we shut down government operations indefinitely, disrupting critical services that everyday people depend on, and in the process give even greater power to President Trump and Elon Musk, who have shown a lust for firing workers and dismantling government? I believe that handing President Trump this kind of unchecked power would cause even more harm to my constituents.”

Much of the ire was directed toward Schumer, the Senate’s minority leader. On Thursday, he announced he would vote yes on Thursday in a move some are calling the “Schumer surrender.”

“This [concurrent resolution] turns the federal government into a slush fund for Donald Trump and Elon Musk. It sacrifices congressional authority, and it is deeply partisan, US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Thursday following Schumer’s announcement. “And so for me, it is almost unthinkable why Senate Democrats would vote to hand the few pieces of leverage we have away for free, when we’ve been sent here to protect Social Security, to protect Medicaid, and to protect Medicare,” the progressive New York Democrat continued.

Hailing from Brooklyn, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries denied multiple times to support Schumer, also a Brooklynite, when asked on Friday. When he was asked at a press conference if it was time for new leadership in the Senate, Jeffries quickly responded, “Next question,” according to Axios. Asked also if he lost confidence in Schumer, he replied the same: “Next question.”

On Friday, Jeffries released a statement saying, in part, “Our party is not a cult, we are a coalition. On occasion, we may strongly disagree about a particular course of action. At all times, Democrats throughout the nation remain determined to make life better for everyday Americans and stop the damage being done by Donald Trump, Elon Musk and House Republicans.”

“The Republican leadership has deliberately cut Democrats out of the process, and we must not give in to Republican hostage-taking of our vulnerable seniors, veterans, and working-class families to advance their destructive funding bill,” dozens of House Democrats wrote in a letter to Senator Schumer on Friday. It was signed by several New York members, including AOC, Representative Paul Tonko from the Albany area, and Nydia Velázquez and Dan Goldman, representing parts of New York City.

“The GOP’s CR is a total abdication of Congress’ duty. It hands power to Trump & Musk to continue to destroy our government and slash vital programs while they enrich themselves,” Velázquez wrote on X on Friday afternoon. “Democrats must FIGHT BACK, not roll over.”

On early Friday morning, protestors took to Schumer’s Brooklyn residence, chanting, “Vote no or go.”

“We’ve been told for months that the Democrats are going to hold their fire until they have leverage and then to surrender that leverage— the only one that exists—feels like a real betrayal to his constituency and the country, ” said Shay O’Reilly, an organizer who helped plan the event, told THE CITY.

Chi Ossé, a New York City Council member from Brooklyn and growing figure in progressive politics, said on X that he would support a primary challenge against both Schumer and Gillibrand.

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“Trump and MAGA Republicans want to ransack government and steal health care from millions of families. The Senate Democrats willing to help them have lost the plot completely,” Maurice Mitchell, National Director of the New York-founded Working Families Party, wrote in a statement. “Working families deserve leaders who will fight for them, not wave the white flag at the first sign of conflict.”

Others applauded the senators’ choice to vote yes on the funding bill, including the president himself, who lauded Schumer in a Friday Truth Social post.

“Congratulations to Chuck Schumer for doing the right thing — Took “guts” and courage!” Trump wrote, adding, “really good and smart move.”