Congress
Schumer brushes off Pelosi’s criticism over government funding fight
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday rebuffed a recent critique from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about his decision to support the Republican-backed stopgap spending bill, saying he had no choice but to avert a government shutdown.
“What we got, at the end of the day, is avoiding the horror of a shutdown,” Schumer said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” to host Kristen Welker. There was no leverage point that we could’ve — we could’ve asked for things, they just would’ve said no.”
Pelosi — a longtime ally of Schumer — had taken aim at the minority leader’s move last week, accusing him of giving ground to Republicans without demanding anything in return. “I myself don’t give away anything for nothing,” she said.
Schumer and a small group of other Democrats’ decision to vote in favor of the continuing resolution has sparked backlash from members of their party who argue Democrats capitulated on key priorities. Schumer, however, has held firm, repeatedly asserting that a shutdown would have handed President Donald Trump and his allies an opening to continue gutting the federal bureaucracy.
Schumer’s decision to support the GOP bill drew praise from Trump, who said Schumer had “guts” and “did the right thing.”
Despite the clash, Pelosi said she continues to support Schumer — a stance that contrasts with growing murmurs within the Democratic Party about whether Schumer should step down from his leadership role.
Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet recently declined to explicitly call for Schumer to step aside as Senate minority leader, but highlighted echoes of the party’s internal struggle last summer over former President Joe Biden’s candidacy. But Schumer pushed back on the comparison when asked if he thought he could be making a similar mistake.
“No, absolutely not,” he said. “I did this out of conviction.”
He doubled down on his decision to support Republicans’ spending bill, saying, “Look, I’m not stepping down.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is in the Capitol meeting with holdout GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Bill Cassidy of Louisiania as he tries to lock down their support for his confirmation as permanent leader of the Justice Department.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) declined to respond directly Wednesday to Speaker Mike Johnson’s refusal to denounce his former son-in-law Rep. Max Miller over abuse accusations leveled by Moreno’s daughter: “These aren’t accusations in my world,” he said.
“In my world, this is the reality,” Moreno told reporters at the Capitol. “This is not something that is theoretical to me. This is my lived reality of my daughter and my family every single solitary day.”
In an interview with Dasha Burns for Blue Light News’s The Conversation, Johnson declined to take sides in the dispute between Miller (R-Ohio) and Emily Moreno. He called for a House Ethics probe to “play out.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s expected choice for Army chief of staff faces resistance that could imperil his confirmation, according to the chair of the panel that needs to approve it.
Senate Armed Services head Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said Wednesday that he was aware of “some opposition within the committee” to acting Army chief of staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve taking the job on a permanent basis.
LaNeve, previously Hegseth’s senior military aide, was confirmed as Army vice chief of staff in January. But he has also served as acting chief of staff since April when Hegseth forced out popular Gen. Randy George, a move that drew widespread criticism from lawmakers in both parties.
Wicker said he was “not able to predict right now” if lawmakers could address concerns about LaNeve. He did not specify whether the concerns were raised by Republicans, but GOP resistance is likely given that nominees could advance through the committee on a party-line vote.
LaNeve has only held the position of four-star general for six months, an anomaly for the the senior most Army officer.
The Wall Street Journal first reported about Republican opposition to LaNeve, citing Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-Iowa) concerns about his lack of experience at the four-star rank.
Ernst, in an interview, did not dispute that she was the source of the holdup. But she called it a moot point as President Donald Trump has not yet formally nominated LaNeve to the position. And she disputed reports that LaNeve’s lack of experience was the sticking point.
“I don’t think that time and grade has anything to do with leadership ability, so I don’t know how that came about, honestly.” she said. “That’s not what I’ve told anyone.”
If the opposition continues, Trump could decide to leave LeNeve in the acting position indefinitely.
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