Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor Saturday that it’s a “terrible mistake” for Republicans to dismiss his proposal to reopen the government with a one-year extension of government funding.
Republicans have called the proposal “unsuccessful.”
“I know a lot of Republicans came out furious to reject this offer, but that’s a terrible mistake,” Schumer said. “Our offer is not a new policy. It is not about negotiating in the middle of a shutdown. It is simply about agreeing to maintain current funding levels.”
He said Republicans refuse to even acknowledge health care problems.
“It’s alarming that Republicans even refuse to acknowledge that we have an immediate crisis that needs solving,” Schumer said.
Schumer continued to criticize Republicans for the damaging effects of the record shutdown, blaming Republicans for airport delays and cancellations and ongoing problems with SNAP.
He also said the administration showed “pathological levels of vindictiveness” by taking the case over the payment of SNAP benefits to the Supreme Court.
Houston residents line up in their cars for a special free food distribution by the Houston Food Bank at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on November 1, 2025.
Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images
“This morning, tens of millions of Americans remain in limbo as this administration continues its crusade against SNAP,” Schumer said. “The Supreme Court has allowed the administration to withhold benefits as the case moves through the lower courts. For this administration to go all the way to the Supreme Court just to avoid having to pay SNAP benefits for hungry children is pathological levels of vindictiveness.”
He said the SNAP issue is “in the hands of the administration.”
“Any time the administration wanted, they could find a solution for SNAP and ensure people don’t go hungry,” Schumer said.
Schumer also called the mass airport cancellations “transparently political.”
“What’s happening at US airports right now is not an accident, it’s a stunt,” he said.
-Allison Pecorin of ABC News
