Schumer says he is not stepping down after CR vote pushback

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he will not step down from his position amid calls for him to do so after voting to advance a GOP-crafted funding bill.

During an interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” Schumer confirmed that he would not be stepping down from his position as Senate minority leader, noting that he expected “a lot of controversy” for his vote to advance the House Republican-drafted funding bill, which helped avoid a government shutdown.

However, Schumer said that while the continuing resolution was “certainly bad,” he argued a shutdown “would be 15 or 20 times worse.”

“Under a shutdown, the executive branch has sole power to determine what is, quote, ‘essential,'” he said. “And they can determine without any court supervision. The courts have ruled it’s solely up to the executive what to shut down.”

Schumer said figures such as President Trump, Elon Musk and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought would “eviscerate the federal government.”

“Here’s what makes it worse. There’s no off-ramp,” he added. “Who determines how long the shutdown would last? Only those evil people at the top of the executive branch in the Trump administration.”

Schumer has come under intense fire following his vote to advance the bill, with some critics calling for him to step down from his position, citing a lack of a clear strategy.