The White House and Republicans in Congress are seizing on comments from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in which the Democratic leader argued the party’s position gets better “every day” amid the ongoing government shutdown.
White House officials blasted Schumer’s comments in an interview with Punchbowl News as insensitive and tone deaf as the shutdown threatens pay for military members and funds for certain government programs.
“Better for Schumer. Worse for Americans. What a vile sentiment from an alleged leader in our country,” Vice President Vance posted on X.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Schumer’s comments “disgusting and revealing.”
“While federal workers stress over missed paychecks, military families turn to food pantries, and airports around the country face delays — Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are bragging that ‘every day gets better’ for them,” Leavitt posted on X.
“That’s not somebody who wants to see this get resolved,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said on CNBC, accusing Schumer of catering to “left-wing special interest groups.”
Schumer spoke to Punchbowl News as the shutdown entered its second week.
“Every day gets better for us,” Schumer told the outlet.
“It’s because we’ve thought about this long in advance and we knew that health care would be the focal point on Sept. 30 and we prepared for it … Their whole theory was — threaten us, bamboozle us, and we would submit in a day or two,” he added.
Democrats have remained unified over their demands that Republicans agree to extend ObamaCare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year and cause insurance premiums to spike.
GOP leaders haven’t budged from their position of refusing to negotiate on health care — or anything else — until Democrats help to reopen the government.
But there have been some cracks among Republicans in recent days.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a close Trump ally, has pressed Republican leaders to address the cost of health care urgently.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and other Republicans have offered differing messages on passing a standalone bill to pay the troops during the shutdown.
And the White House has for days threatened layoffs across the government, only to hold off.