POLITICS: Senate Cracks Up as Schumer Concedes Voters Pin Shutdown on Democrats – USSA News

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was laughed off the podium after dismissing a New York Times poll showing that Americans blame Democrats for the government shutdown.

“Now I know the leader is going to show a poll that says that Democrats will be blamed for the shutdown.  There are many more polls that show Republicans are to blame. The question in that poll is biased,” Schumer said, referring to the New York Times/Siena College survey.

“In the New York Times, but it’s biased,” he continued, prompting Republicans across the chamber to erupt into laughter. “I don’t always believe the New York Times … You can be sure of that. Neither do you.”

Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) have pushed the Trump administration to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits and guarantee taxpayer-funded health care “for all.” Republicans and the White House rejected the proposals, saying Democrats were demanding taxpayer-funded health care for illegal immigrants.

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“If you look at the original they did with this negotiation, it was a $1.5 trillion spending package, basically saying the American people want to give massive amounts of money, hundreds of billions of dollars to illegal aliens for their health care, while Americans are struggling to pay their health care bills,” Vice President JD Vance said following a White House meeting with congressional leaders.

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While Democrats were divided on whether to shut down the government over their demands, Republicans and independents have remained firmly opposed.

The NYT/Siena poll, conducted just before the Oct. 1 deadline, found that only 27 percent of respondents supported Democrats shutting down the government if their demands were not met.

WATCH:

House Speaker Mike Johnson pinned the fallout from the government shutdown squarely on Democrats, even as President Donald Trump and his budget guru kicked off a deep dive into slashing federal programs.

“This is how the system rolls. It’s Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s call to basically hand the reins to the president,” Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told reporters. “He’s boxed himself into this corner, and it’s totally avoidable. The president isn’t thrilled about any of it.”

With no funding bill in sight, federal agencies are scrambling into contingency mode—holding off on payments and scaling back operations across the board.

Johnson’s comments landed just hours after Trump fired off a Truth Social post announcing a sit-down with Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, whom he dubbed the “PROJECT 2025 Fame” guy, to zero in on which agencies and initiatives get the axe.

“Meeting today with Russ Vought … to figure out which of the countless Democrat Agencies—most of ’em nothing but political scams—he suggests cutting, and if those cuts stick around or just for now,” Trump posted.

“I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats handed me this golden chance. They’re sharp cookies, so maybe this is their sneaky, speedy plan to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he quipped.

Vought’s team has already slapped a freeze on billions earmarked for New York City subway upgrades. As shutdown rules kick in, agencies are stalling employee paychecks and combing through budgets to align with White House priorities.

“Like it or not, whoever’s running OMB during a shutdown has to run that playbook,” Johnson noted. “We hopped on a 45-minute call with Russ yesterday.

“He looped in all the House Republicans. Nobody’s dancing about this … ’cause Russ is stuck sifting through what’s gotta stay versus what goes—policies, staff, programs. It’s a rotten job, and he’s not digging it,” he wrapped up.