Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) found himself the subject of ridicule this week when he dismissed a New York Times/Siena College poll that suggested Americans largely blame Democrats for the recent government shutdown. The incident unfolded just before the shutdown took effect, following the Senate Democrats' decision to reject a stopgap funding measure passed by the House.
In a speech on the Senate floor, Schumer addressed the poll, stating, “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 blamed. The question in that poll is biased.” He further criticized the New York Times, eliciting laughter from Republican senators during his remarks.
The impasse leading to the shutdown was primarily due to Democrats' insistence on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits and providing healthcare benefits to undocumented immigrants. Republicans, along with the White House, opposed these measures on fiscal grounds, arguing that they would give precedence to undocumented immigrants over Americans facing their own healthcare challenges.
Vice President J.D. Vance voiced his opposition to the Democrats' proposal, commenting, “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.”
The contentious NYT/Siena poll, conducted before the October 1 deadline, found that only 27 percent of respondents supported the idea of Democrats shutting down the government to fulfill their demands.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) held Democrats accountable for the shutdown, pointing to Schumer's actions, “This is Chuck Schumer’s decision, is to hand … the keys to the kingdom to the president. He has put himself in that situation, and it’s completely unnecessary. The president takes no pleasure in this.”
With the continuing resolution not passed, federal agencies have initiated contingency plans, causing delays in payments and a scaling down of operations. The Trump administration, through Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, has halted funding for various projects, including improvements to New York City's subway system.
President Trump took to Truth Social to announce a review of potential cuts. “I have a meeting today with Russ Vought … to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent,” he stated.
Johnson elaborated on the difficulties faced by agencies during the shutdown, noting the OMB's role in identifying essential services and personnel. “He takes no pleasure in this … because Russ has to sit down and decide, because he’s in charge of that office, which policies, personnel and which programs are essential, and which are not. That is not a fun task, and he is not enjoying that responsibility,” he said.
