Senate Erupts In Laughter After Schumer Admits Voters Blame Dems For Shutdown
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was met with laughter on the Senate floor after brushing off a New York Times/Siena College poll showing that most Americans blame Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown.
“Now I know the leader is going to show a poll that says 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, referencing the Times survey.
“In the New York Times, but it’s biased,” he added — a line that triggered laughter and jeers from Republicans across the chamber. “I don’t always believe the New York Times… You can be sure of that. Neither do you.”
The poll, conducted just before the Oct. 1 funding deadline, found that only 27 percent of voters supported Democrats’ push to shut down the government in pursuit of their spending demands.
Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) have tied any reopening deal to an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies and a guarantee of taxpayer-funded health care for illegal immigrants — conditions the Trump administration and congressional Republicans flatly rejected.
“Democrats want to spend $1.5 trillion, with hundreds of billions going toward illegal aliens’ health care while Americans are struggling to pay their own bills,” Vice President J.D. Vance said following a White House meeting.
Republicans and independents have remained firmly opposed to Democrats’ stance, calling it reckless and politically motivated.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Democrats bear full responsibility for the shutdown’s impact, including delays in pay for federal workers and disruptions to key programs.
“This is Chuck Schumer’s decision,” Johnson told reporters. “He’s handed the keys to the kingdom to the president. It’s completely unnecessary — and the president takes no pleasure in this.”
The Trump administration has moved quickly to identify wasteful or redundant federal programs for potential elimination during the funding lapse.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, President Donald Trump confirmed he would meet with Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought — whom he praised as “he of PROJECT 2025 Fame” — to determine which agencies and initiatives should face cuts.
“I have a meeting today with Russ Vought to determine which of the many Democrat agencies — most of which are political scams — should be cut,” Trump wrote.
“I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity… Maybe this is their way of helping us MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Under Vought’s direction, the administration has already frozen billions in federal funding earmarked for New York City subway projects. Agencies are now executing shutdown protocols, including delaying payments, pausing operations, and reprioritizing spending in line with White House directives.
“Russ Vought takes no pleasure in this,” Johnson said. “He’s having to make the hard calls — which programs, personnel, and policies are essential, and which are not. That’s not a fun task, but it’s a necessary one.”
With the shutdown stretching on, Republicans argue the standoff exposes Democrats’ misplaced priorities — prioritizing handouts for illegal immigrants over American families — and their willingness to hold government operations hostage for political gain.