Congress

How Schumer is preparing for the fall funding showdown

Published

11 months ago

July 22, 2025

Chuck Schumer is quietly turning his caucus toward a critical decision on how to handle a fall funding showdown, after he and Senate Democrats faced blistering criticism from the party’s base earlier this year.

As the chamber is set to vote Tuesday to tee up the first tranche of government funding bills, the Senate minority leader is holding discussions with his colleagues about what their strategy should be ahead of the Sept. 30 shutdown deadline.

Democrats are having behind-the-scenes conversations on this topic, including during a more than hour-long meeting last week. Schumer is expected to have more member-level discussions about the September roadmap over the next two weeks, and has been in close touch with Democrats on the Appropriations Committee. He is also meeting with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday to discuss funding endgame strategy, said three people granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Those private discussions come as Schumer has stopped short of threatening a shutdown publicly — even as he warns Republicans against pursuing GOP-only spending tactics.

“He is making recommendations and listening to our recommendations,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said about Schumer in an interview, adding that Democrats are “starting to have significant discussions within the caucus about Sept. 30 and the appropriations and [continuing resolution] process.”

Schumer’s decision to have conversations months in advance underscores what many in the caucus will acknowledge: Democrats are trying to be proactive by not waiting until they return from the weeks-long August recess to start feeling out their strategy, when they’ll have few legislative days left to figure out how to fund the government.

Ultimately, Schumer will make the final play call. But while Democrats want to see him find a strategy that unifies the party after facing intense criticism from the progressive base for helping advance a GOP-only bill earlier this year to avoid a shutdown, Democrats haven’t settled on a strategy. Schumer’s role, so far, is largely to facilitate the caucus’ private conversations and act as a soundboard as needed.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), asked about what guidance Democrats are now hearing from Schumer, said the New Yorker was currently in “listening mode.”

“You know, generally, Chuck listens to people and then he typically tries to pull together the best thoughts of everyone for the policy, but he never ignores anyone,” Reed said.

Democrats are mulling a range of proposals internally with Schumer about what conditions they can place on Republicans in exchange for voting to move ahead with shutdown-averting legislation, according to two people granted anonymity to share private deliberations.

So far, Democrats have floated the idea of making Republicans agree to a deal on the budget process and specific policy concessions, or locking in a commitment from Senate Republicans that they will not support additional rescissions packages — potentially publicly or in writing.

There has been no agreement among Democrats, however, about what formal demands they will make of Senate Republicans, who need Democratic votes to reach a 60-vote threshold to advance a government funding bill. And, said the two people with knowledge of the conversations, it’s too soon to say which idea will end up as the lead contender.

Senate Democrats will face their first government funding decision Tuesday, with Republicans teeing up the first procedural vote on a package of government funding bills that have passed the Senate Appropriations Committee largely on a bipartisan basis.

Democrats appear to be leaning toward at least helping start debate on the package. But Schumer told his No. 2, Dick Durbin, that he wants to have a full caucus discussion Tuesday about how to handle that first tranche of funding measures before announcing a strategy, the Illinois Democrat said in an interview Monday.

Publicly, Schumer is trying to keep the pressure on Republicans, accusing Senate Majority Leader John Thune of “talking a bit out of both sides of his mouth” on government funding by talking up the importance of the normal appropriations process while also greenlighting efforts by the administration to clawback funding previously blessed by Congress.

“If Leader Thune wants to talk about bipartisanship, he should focus on keeping his side of the street clean first,” Schumer said.

He warned in a letter to his caucus earlier this month that Republicans shouldn’t bank on having help from Democrats on government funding if they pursue go-it-alone funding strategies like the rescissions package. But Schumer has also declined multiple times to discuss what the outcome would be for such actions, telling reporters late last week to ask Republicans if they were willing to stand up to White House budget director Russ Vought.

Across the Capitol, Jeffries is drawing his own line on government funding, saying Monday at a press conference, “it’s my expectation that if Republicans try to jam a highly partisan spending bill down the throats of the American people here in the house, we will reject it.”

But while the two New Yorkers face a similar dilemma, Schumer also faces a tougher task: House Republicans don’t need Democratic votes to pass legislation if they can achieve near-unity — a rare occurrence for the fractious conference but, as they have proven, not impossible. Schumer’s caucus, in contrast, plays a more decisive role given the need for 60 votes for the Senate to advance a funding bill to avoid a shutdown.

“Here’s the reality: we have to have a budget. We’ve got 47 votes, they’ve got 53,” said Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), in an interview. “How we deal with that, when we’ve got 47-53, remains to be seen.”

Katherine Tully-McManus, Jennifer Scholtes and Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.

Congress

Mamdani-backed socialist ousts Espaillat in NY-13

Published

7 hours ago

June 24, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

NEW YORK — Darializa Avila Chevalier has ousted five-term House member Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, in a massive victory for the Democratic Socialists of America.

Her win marks another rebuke of the Democratic establishment in New York following Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral election last year, cementing the DSA as one of the city’s most potent political forces. The upset reflects a political climate in which voters have become increasingly willing to cast aside longtime incumbents in favor of outsiders promising change.

Avila Chevalier focused much of her campaign on attacking Espaillat for accepting donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and real estate interests during his career.

“I really feel that this is a fight to make sure that we are representing working-class New Yorkers who have been left behind by a politics that only serves the interests of corporations, of corporate landlords, of special interest groups that are making life in New York deeply unaffordable for so many,” Avila Chevalier said last month, during an appearance with Mamdani on MS NOW where the mayor endorsed her campaign.

Espaillat, who is the first formerly undocumented person to serve in Congress, came up short despite having the support of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin.

Avila Chevalier, 32, was a leading organizer in the pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University in 2024 and is a sociology Ph.D. student at the CUNY Graduate Center. She has served as an investigator for a public defender’s office and is originally from South Florida.

For most of the race, Espaillat was widely viewed as the favorite, but Mamdani’s late May endorsement of Avila Chevalier jolted a contest that began to show signs it was tightening. An April poll from Avila Chevalier’s campaign showed her down 14 points.

Her victory came despite intense outside spending in support of Espaillat, including from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ campaign arm.

Avila Chevalier’s election to New York’s 13th district also shows a changing of the guard in Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx. Espaillat has served at the helm of a political alliance, known as the “Squadriano,” that has ruled over those areas of the city, home to large Dominican American and African American populations.

At times during the race, Espaillat and his supporters sought to frame the primary battle as a contest between gentrifiers and long-term residents.

“Those that choose or want to parachute in, after the men and women of this city, the working men and women of the city, have built our neighborhood, we’re gonna send them back home packing wherever they came from,” the 71-year-old member of Congress said last month.

The story of his political ascendance and reign in Upper Manhattan has also been characterized by an intense rivalry with Manhattan Democratic Party Chair Keith Wright, an ally of the late Rep. Charles Rangel, whom Espaillat challenged for Congress in 2012 and 2014.

But this year’s primary seems to have calmed the bitter rivalry between Espaillat and Wright amid the encroachment of the Democratic Socialists of America on disputed turf. Earlier this month, Espaillat endorsed Wright’s son , state Assemblymember Jordan Wright, who was also facing a DSA-backed challenger.

The peace pact wasn’t enough to fend off the challenge from Avila Chevalier, who seized on a progressive swing in the district ever since Mamdani handily beat former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral primary there.

“We have come a long way from where we used to be as a party,” Mamdani said in the interview where he announced his endorsement of Avila Chevalier. “It’s time we have a new generation that not only takes us back to that ambition, but takes us forward to the tomorrow that so many New Yorkers are waiting for.”

Congress

Former Utah Rep. Ben McAdams is on track to return to Congress

Published

8 hours ago

June 24, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Former Rep. Ben McAdams won his primary Tuesday, paving the way for his return to Congress.

McAdams, a moderate, staved off a roster of progressive challengers in Utah’s newly redrawn 1st District, a rare deep-blue Salt Lake City district in a deep-red state that came as a result of a messy, decadelong redistricting saga.

McAdams will enter November as the heavy favorite in a district former Vice President Kamala Harris won by nearly 24 points in 2024.

McAdams won a GOP-leaning seat in the 2018 Democratic wave and governed as a centrist, Blue Dog Democrat who pushed for a balanced budget amendment — but he lost his reelection bid in 2020. He was one of the first Democrats to signal interest in running in the new 1st District and quickly garnered support from Utah elected officials and national centrist Democrats.

His progressive opponents attempted to paint him as too conservative, pointing to his previous mixed record on abortion. One opponent, state Sen. Nate Blouin, called on the other candidates to consolidate their support behind one person to avoid splitting the progressive vote. None agreed, and McAdams — who raised more money than the three other Democrats combined — prevailed.

Congress

Trump’s preferred candidate wins primary to succeed Elise Stefanik

Published

8 hours ago

June 24, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

ALBANY, New York — President Donald Trump’s preferred candidate to succeed Rep. Elise Stefanik cruised to victory in his Republican primary Tuesday evening.

Anthony Constantino, the CEO of custom sticker company Sticker Mule, defeated Assemblymember Robert Smullen, a retired Marine colonel, for the nomination in a deep red upstate New York House district.

Trump, along with MAGA figures Roger Stone and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, backed Constantino’s bid, casting aside Smullen’s endorsement from the New York Republican Committee.

Constantino’s victory underscores the power of Trump’s endorsement in a district he has won during each of his three presidential campaigns. His win also highlights how a candidate who’s fashioned himself in a MAGA mold can continue to resonate in a largely rural and predominantly white district that has struggled economically for decades.

A former boxer, Constantino has dabbled in music, producing songs that praise Trump. He initially drew Stone’s attention after erecting a large “Vote for Trump” sign on a building in Amsterdam, N.Y., a city less than an hour west of Albany. Constantino also gifted Trump a bronze statue in the president’s likeness.

The circus-like primary became a bruising battle between a first-time candidate who channeled Trump-style promotion and attacks against an establishment favorite with a long, accomplished resume.

Constantino referred to Smullen as “Slime Bob” and called him “evil” in a text message to his rival. Smullen, in turn, called Constantino “unfit” and knocked his prior enrollment as a Democrat.

The race became so bitter that Smullen refused to shake Constantino’s hand at the conclusion of their only televised debate.

Constantino poured $10 million of his own money into the race and spent more than $3.8 million on TV ads, saturating upstate media market airwaves. Smullen’s campaign spent a fraction of that amount, more than $500,000 in ad spending, according to the tracking firm AdImpact.

The sticker impresario also displayed a marketing flare, printing t-shirts that touted his Trump endorsement.

Smullen leaned heavily on his biography and background as a combat Marine. But he often found himself responding — sometimes angrily — to Constantino’s barrage of attacks.

Constantino will now have to make peace with some New York power brokers as he pivots to the general election. Smullen is set to remain on the November ballot with the backing of the state Conservative Party’s ballot line. Constantino is being sued for defamation by that party’s leader, Jerry Kassar.

The House seat opened after Stefanik, who has represented the area for more than a decade, announced she would leave Congress after scuttling her gubernatorial campaign. Stefanik was previously Trump’s nominee for United Nations ambassador, but that was yanked amid concerns her vacancy would complicate the House Republicans’ narrow majority.

Stefanik did not endorse in the race to replace her.