Schumer’s Shutdown Standoff Exposes Past Warnings on ‘Greatest Disaster’

America is once again in the middle of a painful government shutdown — and Republicans say the crisis is being driven by two New York Democrats more concerned about appeasing the radical left than governing: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

For Schumer, the about-face has been especially glaring. Earlier this year, he loudly warned that even flirting with a shutdown would wreak havoc on the country. Today, he is leading the charge to block a bipartisan plan to keep the government funded.

“I had to do the right thing — for the country and our party,” Schumer insisted on NBC’s Meet the Press back in March, justifying his decision at the time to work with Republicans to keep the government open. He even told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes that “the alternative being a shutdown makes things worse — much worse.”

Now, Republicans are pointing to what they call Schumer’s “rank hypocrisy.” Internal GOP talking points, obtained by the Washington Reporter, cite remarks from prominent Democrats including Sens. Brian Schatz (Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Mark Warner (Va.), and Mark Kelly (Ariz.), all of whom previously admitted shutdowns would harm veterans, seniors, and federal workers.

So why the sudden change? Many Republicans believe Schumer’s refusal to compromise is less about policy and more about politics — namely, his fear of a primary challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the self-proclaimed socialist congresswoman from his home state.

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes asked Ocasio-Cortez directly if Schumer’s hardline stance was motivated by fear of her candidacy.

“There are some people I have seen who have the following theory…that Chuck Schumer is worried about a primary challenge from you…and so, because of that…he’s gonna shut down the government,” Hayes said. “Ergo, it is AOC’s fault that the government is shutting down, or that you’re somehow the fulcrum of this.”

The congresswoman dodged. “This is so not about me in this moment. This is about people being able to insure their children,” she said, before launching into an attack on President Trump.

“Well, if that’s the case, my office is open and you are free to walk in and negotiate with me directly, because what I’m not going to do is tolerate four million uninsured Americans because Donald Trump decided one day that he wants to just make sure that kids are dying because they don’t have access to insurance,” Ocasio-Cortez claimed.

She added that lawmakers could “come strike a deal with me” if they truly believed she was the reason Schumer and Jeffries were dragging the country into a shutdown.

For Republicans, her comments only confirmed what they’ve long suspected: the Democratic Party’s agenda is now dictated by its most extreme voices. Instead of protecting the economy, veterans, and working families, Schumer and Jeffries are willing to hold the government hostage to prove their loyalty to the far-left base.